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“Deadlier Than Cyanide” ; Hundreds of pufferfish washed ashore

A British scientist in Cape Town, South Africa, got a piece of evidence to glance of species when she appeared upon hundreds of fish washed ashore on Muizenberg Beach. Dr. Tess Gridley was walking with her family when she saw the bulk stranding at the beach.

The varieties were soon recognized as the deadly “evil-eye” pufferfish by specialists at South Africa’s Department of Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries. According to the reports, the ministry said in a statement, “The fish mortalities in False Bay are exclusive of the evil-eye pufferfish with counts of 300 to 400 dead fish per km of shore.” The pufferfish is recognized to hold a neurotoxin more toxic than cyanide. The toxin can paralyze the diaphragm driving respiratory collapse.

Urging locals to stay away from the beach, the statement appended, “These dead fish all carry the deadly neurotoxin Tetrodotoxin and should not be eaten; death comes usually by cardiac arrest.” 

The department also warned beach dog walkers to save their pets away from poisonous fish. A local NGO, AfriOceans Conservation Alliance, announced that one dog had already perished because of the consumption of the pufferfish, the report said. Dr. Tess Gridley, who examines marine life as part of the Sea Search organization, shared the video of the stranding on the organization’s YouTube channel. In the video, she told that she noticed a pufferfish for every one meter she stepped.

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“The beach is 200 meters from our house and we were on a family walk,” Dr. Gridley was quoted as saying by The Sun. “I can’t say how many were there as I only looked in a small area – I was with my kids and dog, and prepping for fieldwork so it was a short visit.”But if you did count it would have exceeded hundreds.”The reason behind the mass stranding of the pufferfish remains a mystery.

 

 

 

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