Toxic Pufferfish Invade Eastern Mediterranean, Killing People and Irking Fisherman

In the Eastern Mediterranean, the pufferfish has arrived. And nobody's too happy about it. The fish, also known as the silverstripe blaasop or Lagocephalus sceleratus, was first confirmed in Turkey in 2003 and has been spreading throughout the area. The problem with this unassuming fellow is that it contains tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that can be deadly to humans and for which there is no known antidote. Consumption of the fish has killed at least 7 people in Lebanon in the past few years, according to The Daily Star, and likely affected many more. A 2008 study found that 13 Israeli patients who ate the blaasop had to receive emergency medical attention at the hospital, where they didn't recover for four days. Besides being poisonous the pufferfish is also strong and has a sharp beak that allows it to cut through fishermen's nets. The fish is native to the Pacific and ...