"Its front teeth are sharp enough to bite through wood and bone – and bites to swimmers can result in painful wounds and even severed fingers and toes"

The completion of The Suez Canal, more than 150 years ago, transformed the viability of shipping between Asia and Europe. It also created an ecological link between the Red and Mediterranean Seas and in recent years, as the temperatures in the Mediterranean have increased, ever more species are making their mark.

Among them is the silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), a member of the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae, notorious for the toxicity. In some culinary recipes, such as fugu in Japan, the meat of pufferfish is considered a delicacy, although preparation really is a matter of life or death.

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For the inexperienced or unaware, the arrival of a potential new food source supersedes natural caution, and in parts of the Mediterranean the colonisation of the silver-cheeked toadfish has coincided with poisonings and deaths.    

The silver-cheeked toadfish does not grow particularly large, but at 40cm in length an adult fish will appear to be perfect eating size.

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Even the skin can be toxic however, containing traces of the tetrodotoxin that can be found in the ovaries, liver and muscles. The toxin is accumulated from bacteria that the fish consumes and is not destroyed by cooking or freezing. 

 In addition, the toadfish also has a reputation for showing aggression to divers. Although they will ‘inflate’, similarly to other pufferfish, by rapidly filling its stomach with water, as a means of deterring would-be predators, they can also deliver a severe bite.

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The mouth contains four fused front teeth, which are sharp enough to bite through wood and bone. Unprovoked attacks on swimmers have resulted in painful wounds and even resulted in severed fingers and toes.

Governments of several countries in the eastern Mediterranean are issuing guidance to bathers, swimmers and fishers, while the EU-funded LagoMeal project is developing a safe means to use toadfish bycatch in fish feed for aquaculture.

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