Yellowtail Snapper

Yellowtail snapper may be contaminated with a tropical marine toxin that causes ciguatera, a serious foodborne illness that improves with time but has no cure. Ciguatera is found in tropical reef fish, and cannot be cooked out of food. Be sure to ask at restaurants whether your tropical fish has been tested for the presence of this toxin. If you choose to eat tropical reef fish, consuming small portions and selecting smaller-sized fish may help you avoid the more serious side effects of this toxin.

Yellowtail snapper is not strongly associated with contaminants, but may contain some mercury. Consumers should check for current warnings to determine safe consumption levels of fish, in: particular for pregnant women, those who may become pregnant and children: http://map1.epa.gov Yellowtail snapper from Florida is usually caught with hook-and-line, hand line, or bottom longline. Hook-and-line and hand lines allow for non-target species to be released more quickly and cause less damage to the seafloor. A bottom longline consists of a central line strung with many baited hooked lines and a weight of some type, keeping the line in place. This method can catch more non-target species and cause damage to the seafloor. Yellowtail snapper is not currently being overfished.