Pufferfish In Caofeidian

February 18, 2019

A pufferfish inflates after being fished out of its enclosure in Dalian Caofeidian Fishery which breeds non-poisonous pufferfish in Caofeidian district Tangshan, Hebei Province, China, 14 February 2019 (issued 18 February 2019). Also known as Blowfish, the Pufferfish is fast becoming a coveted delicacy for Chinese diners after a ban was lifted by the Chinese government on serving the normally poisonous fish for consumption. Known for its ability to puff up into a round shape when threatened, wild pufferfish also contains a deadly toxin that could be fatal when consumed. Wild pufferfish usually feeds on shrimps and crustaceans that contain green algae which is turned into a poison called tetradotoxin when ingested by the pufferfish. This is deadly to humans with no known antidote. However, Chinese fisheries have managed to breed non-poisonous pufferfish by controlling their diet and preventing the fish from eating the green algae, prompting the government to lift the ban in 2016. Tianzheng Puffer restaurant chain which owns Dalian Tianzheng Caofeidian Fishery has been farming pufferfish since 1993 but before the ban, export their fish mainly to Japan and South Korea. Now 50 percent of their pufferfish are sold domestically supplying their restaurants in Beijing. The chain has four branches in Beijing specializing in pufferfish dishes. Pufferfish served at the restaurants are frozen and processed to remove any toxins, while live pufferfishes are for decoration purposes only. Some of the more popular dishes with Chinese people are Puffer fish sashimi, braised pufferfish and pufferfish hot pot which cost about 300 RMB (40 euro) per dish. EPA-Jiji-Press