Q: While doing research for an article on ciguatera poisoning, I learned of a recall in Canada of "leatherjacketfish" from China that health officials suspected was tainted with ciguatera. I was able to find some images online that looked like rabbitfish or smooth puffers; I wonder if you could tell me for sure (or at least to genus)what these leatherjacketfish are. I was interested to see that the species is apparently a major export item. How/where do the Chinese catch these? Do you know of anyone who's ever eaten one (and survived!) to reveal if they're particularly tasty or not?

Doug Olander
Winter Park, Florida

A: Doug, this fish is a leatherjacket  of the family Monacanthidae (leatherjackets and triggerfishes). Monocanthids are related to puffers but differ in having a body that's flat and compressed rather than round. Also, their distinctive serrated dorsal spine gives the group its common names of filefishes and triggerfishes. More than 100 species of leatherjackets live in the Indo-Pacific region, but only a very few have been implicated in ciguatera poisoning. The most likely culprit is Aluterus monoceros, the unicorn leatherjacket. A. monoceros occurs in depths of 150 feet or more, over inshore reefs worldwide in tropical and warm temperate waters, including the western Pacific Ocean from Japan to China and as far south as Australia. They grow to 30 inches long and feed on a wide range of bottom-dwelling invertebrates as well as algae and corals. This diet and occurrence over coral reefs help explain their occasional implication in ciguatera outbreaks. The Chinese probably target them with hook and line, though the strong scissorlike teeth of larger leatherjackets have been known to shear hooks in half like wire cutters! All leatherjackets have a tough, leathery skin that needs to be removed before eating. (You can grip the skin with pliers and peel it off like a sock.) Although some of our local species in Australia are reputed to be quite good eating, I personally have not had the pleasure of sampling any. — Ben Diggles