Beware of the poisonous pufferfish that is invading Italy
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It isalarming in the Mediterranean Sea, and particularly along the Italian coast, for the proliferation of the Spotted (or silvery, scientific name: Lagocephalus Sceleratus) Ballfish. Difficult to distinguish from the Common Pufferfish, its presence in Italian waters was first recorded in 2013, on the island of Lampedusa. Now it is expanding, sightings and catches are frequent in southern Italy (Gulf of Naples, Calabria, Apulia), and it has also arrived in the north, in the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas.
Poisonous, it is difficult to recognize it from the common one (Lagocephalus Lagocephalus, still toxic albeit to a lesser degree). It has invaded much of the Levantine basin, creating serious ecological, economic, and health problems in countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt, where several cases of food poisoning have been reported, some of them fatal.
How to recognize the Spotted Pufferfish? It can be recognized from the edible Pufferfish by the presence of dark dots on its back and a silvery band on its sides. It is called a Pufferfish because when it feels threatened, it quickly inflates, quickly ingesting a lot of water (if it is out of water it ingests air). Thanks to this, the Pufferfish defends itself from attack by other predatory fish.
What to do if you have caught a Pufferfish? Obviously avoid its consumption, separate it from other fish you may have caught, photograph it, and email the shot and location of the catch to pe********@**********te.it
HERE WE EXPLAIN, IN DETAIL, HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE POISONOUS PUFFERFISH
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