Open Access Volume 6 • Issue 10 • 1000370 J Aquac Res Development ISSN: 2155-9546 JARD, an open access journal Research Article Open Access Shamsuzzaman et al., J Aquac Res Development 2015, 6:10 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2155-9546.1000370 Research Article Open Access Aquaculture Research & Development ISSN: 2155-9546 J o u r n a l o f A q u a c u lt u r e R e s e a r c h & D e v e l o p m e n t Keywords: Pufer ish; Cox’s bazar; Seasons; Bangladesh Introduction Pufer ishes belong to the family Tetraodontidae [1]. he family includes many familiar species, which are variously called pufer ish, pufers, balloon ish, blowish, bubble ish, globeish, swellish, toadish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, sea squab etc. hey are called pufer ish because of their ability to inlate themselves with water or air when they feel threatened. hey use air to expand its body to look intimidating to predators. Tetradotoxin, the pufer ish’s toxin, is usually present in the liver, gall bladder, intestine, gonads (ovaries and testes), eggs, and skin of the ish in suicient amounts to cause intoxication among people who eat the ish. hese toxins are 1,200 times more deadly than the poison cyanide [2] and can afect a person’s central nervous system of human [3]. Mild intoxication includes light-headedness, numbness of the lips etc. Tetradotoxin poisoning deadens the tongue and lips, and induces dizziness and vomiting, followed by numbness and prickling over the body, rapid heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and muscle paralysis. he toxin paralyzes diaphragm muscles and eventually stops breathing [4]. hey are oten cheaper than other ishes, and because they contain inconsistent levels of toxins between seasons, there is little awareness or monitoring on its danger. Actually the pufers do not produce toxins themselves. Tetrodotoxin is assumed to be a metabolic product of the host. his toxin is produced by microorganisms, mainly algae engulfed by the pufer which is a subject related to season and this toxin is then bioaccumulated in their body. his pufer ish poisoning is relatively common in some Asian countries, particularly in Japan, hailand, China and also in Bangladesh [5]. his toxin is both heat and acid stable [6], so are not destroyed by cooking, freezing or by digestion process. Tetrodotoxin poisoning has no speciic antidote, but immediate supportive treatment and judicious administration of neostigmine, along with atropine, can minimize fatalities [7]. In Bangladesh, pufer poisoning attributed to ingestion of pufers as a rising health problem over the last 10-15 years in the country. hese incidences occurred due to ingestion of pufers, mainly the freshwater forms [8]. Perhaps, in many cases in the ancient times pufer intoxication could not be identiied due to the lack of research and proper examination. he most frustrating case is even during this age of science, people are dying ater eating pufer. In addition, there is no exact information of when and where, for the irst time the incident of death occurred in Bangladesh ater eating this ish. Between 1994 and 1996, seven poising incidents involving 43 patients with 16 deaths due to consumption of freshwater pufer ish were reported [9]. In 1998, a serious food poisoning incident involving 8 people with 5 deaths occurred in Cox’s Bazar due to ingestion of roe of a marine pufer Takifugu oblongus [10] and, the panic has spread all over the country. In 2008, in South Bateshwar village of the Belabo Upzaila, Narshingdi, 95 people who had consumed pufer ish; 79 developed toxicity characterized by tingling sensation in the body, perioral numbness, dizziness, and weakness, 16 of them died. A total of 36 victims, including seven deaths incident resulting from the ingestion of the marine pufer Takifugu oblongus occurred at Degholia in the Khulna district of Bangladesh on 18 May 2002. In Bangladesh, only 3 species of freshwater pufer ish (Tetradon cutcutia, Chelonodon patoca and Tetradon luviatilis) are available but we do not have any published research information regarding the species numbers of marine pufer. Marine pufers are mainly distributed in the Bay of Bengal. Coastal ishermen reported that some local businessmen distributed the fresh pufers to non-coastal parts of the country [11], where people were fully unfamiliar with those larger varieties, to make a quick proit. Lack of knowledge about marine pufer toxicity contributed to the outbreaks. Moreover, the researchers found some large dried marine pufer ishes to be sold in the local market of Sylhet, where those are sold by attributing new names as nontoxic marine ishes and no publication is yet observed on this important matter. In this context, the study was undertaken as an emergent issue. *Corresponding author: Shamsuzzaman MM, Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh, Tel: +8801816434985; E-mail: sakilimsf@gmail.com Received June 12, 2015; Accepted June 25, 2015; Published July 25, 2015 Citation: Shamsuzzaman MM, Rashid AHA, Mamun MAA, Mazumder SK, Haque MA (2015) Present Status of Marine Puffer Fishes in Bangladesh. J Aquac Res Development 6: 370. doi:10.4172/2155-9546.1000370 Copyright: © 2015 Shamsuzzaman MM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract The study was conducted to create a checklist of available species of marine puffer ishes of Bangladesh. Cox’s Bazar was selected as the study area as common marine ish landing stations are situated there. The study was conducted for a period of one year form July 2011 to June 2012. Puffers were sampled form the ishing vessels on landing stations after return from the sea and also form the local ish markets in four seasons viz. winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon. Most of the ishes were much abundant in the winter season than that of other seasons. After the completion of the study, a total of nine marine puffer ish species were found as- Takifugu poecilonotus, Chelonodon laticeps, Takifugu oblongus, Arothron stellatus, Lagocephalus lunaris, Takifugu vermicularis, Arothron Leopardus, Lagocephalus sceleratus and Arothron immaculatus. The most abundant species was Takifugu vermicularis followed by Lagocephalus lunaris while the lowest abundance was observed for Takifugu poecilonotus. Present Status of Marine Puffer Fishes in Bangladesh Shamsuzzaman MM 1 *, Rashid AHA 2 , Mamun MAA 3 , Mazumder SK 2 and Haque MA 4 1 Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh 2 Department of Aquatic Resource Management, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh 3 Department of Fish Health Management, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh 4 Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Marine Fisheries and Technology Station, Cox’s bazar, Bangladesh