A pet dog died on a beach in Crete, Greece within 30 minutes of consuming a toxic pufferfish that had washed ashore. The incident at Kaloi Limenes in the Heraklion region is another example of the growing hazard posed by the invasive silver-cheeked pufferfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) to both humans and animals across the Mediterranean.
The dog’s owner shared the sad event on social media to warn the public. According to her account, the dog, named Morena, found the dead fish on the sand and ate a portion of it. Severe symptoms began almost immediately, and the animal died half an hour later.
“Endless pain. We just lost our Morena,” the owner wrote. “A matter of half an hour, death. Keep an eye on your animals at the beach. A new danger,” the devastated dog owner said.
Marine experts are urging pet owners to remain vigilant during coastal walks, particularly when dead marine life washes up on the shore. The silver-cheeked pufferfish carries tetrodotoxin, a highly potent marine neurotoxin that causes severe muscle paralysis, nervous system failure, and ultimately death.
Stefanos Kalogirou, an Associate Professor at the Agricultural University of Athens, has extensively tracked the expansion of this species. There are roughly 130 species of pufferfish and related tetraodontids globally, with six having migrated into the Eastern Mediterranean. Following its initial Mediterranean sighting off the coast of Turkey in 2003, Greece recorded its first pufferfish off Rhodes and Crete in 2005. Today, the species has spread extensively, inhabiting waters from the southern to the northern reaches of both the Aegean and Ionian seas.
Kalogirou points out that tetrodotoxin concentrates heavily in the fish’s liver and reproductive organs, though it is also found in muscle tissue. The toxin is exclusively dangerous when ingested. European Union legislation strictly prohibits the commercial sale of pufferfish and related species from the Tetraodontidae family to prevent fatal human poisonings.
While ingestion is the primary chemical threat, the live fish poses a severe physical danger to swimmers and fishers. The family name, Tetraodontidae, comes from the Greek for “four teeth” and it refers to four fused teeth capable of crushing hard shells and severing fishing gear. Kalogirou specifies that the toxin is not transmitted through a bite. The danger from the mouth is strictly mechanical. Medical reports from the Eastern Mediterranean have documented serious injuries, including a case involving an eight-year-old girl in southern Turkey who suffered a traumatic finger amputation after a pufferfish bit her.
Authorities and marine biologists advise the public to avoid touching or interacting with unfamiliar fish. Anyone bitten should seek immediate medical care for the physical wound and monitor for infection, while dog owners must actively prevent their pets from scavenging dead fish along the shoreline.
Related: A Toxic Pufferfish Is Invading Greece: What Swimmers Need to Know
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