As of 2018, 8 out of the 191 puffer fish species in the world have been observed in Turkish waters. Each of these species have a different appearance while some are venomous. The Lagocephalus sceleratus puffer fish is one of the ten most prevalent fish species in the Eastern Mediterranean ecological cycle. The species was recorded for the first time at the Gökova Bay in 2003, and within ten years it began to spread to the Marmara Sea coast (Lapseki).
A neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin (TTX) is found in puffer fish tissue and is harmful to human health if consumed; additionally, the species also poses financial and ecological threats. Tetrodotoxin is known to be ten times more poisonous than cyanide, and studies show that TTX is created by a type of bacteria ingested by the fish when feeding. Research in Asia has shown that puffer fish in the region, particularly the females, are even more venomous during their breeding period.
Surveys with fishers on the Mediterranean coastline have revealed that puffer fish are one of the greatest threats facing fishing. Fishers also recount how puffer fish not only eat the fish they catch in nets, but also rip the nets apart to pieces. The same problem is confirmed by fishers in Greece, Cyprus, and Lebanon. The puffer fish is carnivorous and feeds mostly on crustaceans when young and mollusks when older. Shrimp and octopus are among the highest economically valued target species in the Gökova Bay, and the decrease in their numbers corresponds to the emergence of the puffer fish in the region. Fishers from the area unanimously agree that the prevalence of this species correlates to the significant decrease in the mollusk populations (octopi and squid).
The Determining the Effects of the Puffer Fish and Alternative Methods of Utilisation Project took place in the bays of Gökova, Mersin, and Antalya between 2013-2014, in order to unearth further information on the Lagocephalus sceleratus, which is the most common species of puffer fish on Turkish shores, to provide data for studies on marine biodiversity preservation and sustainable fishing.
Field research conducted with fishers and fishery cooperatives during the project revealed that the financial loss caused by the puffer fish up until 2014 was approximately 5 Million Euros. Specimens taken from the project area were analysed in a laboratory to reveal how much TTX various sizes and genders of Lagocephalus sceleratus found on Turkish shores at different periods of the year contained, and the extent of the threat this posed on human health. Results of the field and laboratory studies also provided a basis to formulate precautions fishers could take against the damage caused by the puffer fish.
The Determining the Effects of the Puffer Fish and Alternative Methods of Utilisation Project was funded by the GEF Small Grants Program between 2013-2014.