(photo courtesy of barrysfreephotos.com)

Environmental Writer Michael Casey of the Associated Press has filed a worrisome report on a rise in cases of seafood poisoning around the world. The AP story says in part,

Experts estimate that up to 50,000 people worldwide suffer ciguatera poisoning each year, with more than 90 percent of cases unreported. Scientists say the risks are getting worse, because of damage that pollution and global warming are inflicting on the coral reefs where many fish species feed.

Dozens of popular fish types, including grouper and barracuda, live near reefs. They accumulate the toxic chemical in their bodies from eating smaller fish that graze on the poisonous algae. When oceans are warmed by the greenhouse effect and fouled by toxic runoff, coral reefs are damaged and poison algae thrives, scientists say.

To read Michael Casey's AP story as it was posted by Yahoo, click here: Seafood poisoning rises with warming