What is Ciguatera Toxin?

/

Before you visit Andros, it’s important to know about Ciguatera: a foodborne illness caused by eating fish that are contaminated by the ciguatera toxin. The concentrated toxin is often found in large reef fish such as barracuda, grouper, red snapper, moray eel, amberjack, parrotfish, hogfish, sturgeon fish, kingfish, coral trout, and sea bass. Ciguatera toxin accumulates in these fish as they consume smaller fish which feed on toxin producing algae (dinoflagellates).

Ciguatera toxin is harmless to fish but poisonous to humans. It is odorless and tasteless and cooking does not destroy the toxin. The symptoms from ingesting Ciguatera toxin are similar to other types of food poisoning and may consist of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, numbness, tingling, abdominal pain, dizziness, and vertigo. There are over 50,000 reported cases of ciguatera poisoning each year but by following just two simple tips, you can nearly eliminate your chance of ingesting the toxin.

When visiting Andros Island:

  1. Do NOT eat large reef fish that feed on smaller fish, especially if the fish weighs over 6 lbs. This is the safest way to not ingest the Ciguatera toxin. If you don’t eat the fish that accumulate the concentrated toxin, then you will not be at risk for Ciguatera poisoning.

  2. If you decide to eat large reef fish, avoid the parts of the fish that concentrate the toxin: liver, intestines, roe, and head.

Fun at Forfar Field Station

/

Hocking College is at Forfar Field Station!
Our current visiting group at Forfar Field Station is Hocking College's Bahamas Ecotourism Adventure Travel (BEAT) class.  Each year a group of knowledge-hungry college students come for a 6-week course at Forfar Field Station. This past Saturday, BEAT and Bahamas National Trust (BNT) took a trip to Andros West Side National Park for a fantastic educational experience.

DSCF3653.JPG

December NSTA Conference

/

Come join us! 
IFS will be at the upcoming National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) Area Conference held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, December 1-3, 2016.  Feel free to stop by and learn about our programming for 2017! Know local teachers that might be interested in a Field Study experience abroad, encourage them to attend and visit our booth!  Additionally,  we are available to come and give a presentation at your school in a department staff meeting or other appropriate meetings. Contact Matt at office@intlfieldstudies.org for more information.

Wishing for Wheels

/

That's right, IFS' Holiday Wish List is for a new vehicle at Forfar Field Station!

With your help we can purchase a new vehicle! It's no easy task getting a vehicle to Forfar from the USA. In fact, it's extremely expensive. IFS not only pays for the vehicle, but also for the transportation to Andros, a 70% duty on the vehicle, and 7.5% value added tax. All of those costs add up and make purchasing new vehicles a pricey and tricky endeavor. 

By donating to IFS, you will help us continue to provide quality education and field experiences to hundreds to students from the US and Bahamas annually.  With a new reliable vehicle, we can continue to help educate students,  facilitate researchers in the work, and promote  conservation with our on-island partners.

Please give by December 31, 2016.  All donations are tax-deductible. 

Hurricane Matthew Repairs

/

Thank you to everyone who has donated their time and money to help Forfar with Hurricane Repairs! Specifically, we would like to thank recent donors Rachel Marschner, Kathleen Hughes, Jessica Pyle, Alan Curtis, Barbara Sadovnic, Connie McCardle, Seth Ransohoff, Marie Trudeau, Maya Wilson, Rachel Stewart, Gene and Royal Mapes, and Christine Rhuel.

Forfar Field Station was without water for 13 days after the hurricane. Additionally, it had no power for 23 days. IFS volunteers and staff had to replace the roof on the work/dive shop, make roof repairs to the lodge, and cabin 4.  In total, Forfar lost 50+ trees on the property. Thank you again to friends and staff of IFS for helping bring it back to tip-top shape!