The Prevalence of Marine Lipophilic Phycotoxins Causes Potential Risks in a Tropical Small Island Developing State

Tropical small island developing states (SIDS) heavily rely on the fisheries industry for food and income due to their geographical isolation and limited resources. They are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. A rise in harmful algal blooms (HABs) is one of the negative consequences of climate change, with these toxin-producing microalgae capable of producing marine lipophilic phycotoxins (MLPs) that accumulate in diverse marine organisms, thereby posing threats to both the economies and human health of these nations.

The Republic of Kiribati is considered one of the most representative SIDS and is recognized as one of the world's largest coral reef nations. SKLMP Associate Director Prof. Leo Chan and Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Zhu Jingyi, led a research team and selected Kiribati as a representative case, collecting 55 out of 256 coral reef fish species with diverse trophic levels and feeding strategies for the analysis of 17 typical MLPs. Findings revealed that ciguatoxin posed the highest potential risk, with an estimated 62% of fish species potentially endangering consumer health. Researchers also emphasized that fish body size and trophic position are not reliable indicators for assessing related risks and preventing the consumption of contaminated fish.

More information: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c00512