The Rescue and Environmental Protection Society (R.E.P.S) at the Red Sea governorate warned on Thursday that a poisonous fish called the Takifugu, a type of Pufferfish, has appeared in several areas in the Red Sea, and has urged fishermen not to sell the fish as it is unfit for consumption.
President of R.E.P.S Hassan al-Tayeb said that the fish also entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. Tayeb stated that the fish have since proliferated in the Mediterranean Sea, damaging the fishermen’s nets.
He noted that the Takifugu dish is expensive in Japanese restaurants as the cookers receives lessons on dealing with the fish and obtain a specialized certificate on cooking it without touching its poisonous blood, liver, and eyes.
Despite it’s toxicity, or possibly because of it, the fish is considered to be a special delicacy in Japan. A single fish contains enough poison to kill 30 adult humans.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
