Dr. Tyler Smith, a scientist with the University of the Virgin Islands Center for Marine and Environmental Studies in St. Thomas, was recently awarded a NOAA grant to study to understand factors influencing the occurrence of ciguatera fish poisoning and develop methods to predict outbreaks. Dr. Smith is partnering with colleagues from around the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Florida on the study called “CiguaHAB” to better understand and minimize the impacts ciguatera fish poisoning, an illness that affects tens of thousands of people each year.
The grant is awarded and administered by the NCCOS Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program.