[capt. norm]

Nobody in their right mind eats puffer fish. They have always been poisonous.

They are ugly little fish that nobody keeps anyway.

[lsee]

Maybe they thought they'd get high or something....

[stainlessbanner]

That was my first thought, too: who the hell eats puffer-fish? maybe the Iron Chef has a good recipe...heh heh

[aruanan]

With all the other truly wonderful fish down there (even sail cats are great if filleted) in abundance, I can't fathom why anyone would be eating a puffer fish.

[PsyOp]

Nobody in their right mind eats puffer fish. They have always been poisonous.

I've heard that it is a Japanese delicacy that has an associated macho trip. Supposedly, only the most skilled sushi chefs can filet it so that the poison does not enter the flesh of the fish (some gland or other has to be cut out). But, because this does not always work and there is no way to tell short of tasting it and living, Eating it is akin to Russian roulette and shows that you are a tough-guy.

[summer]

Re your post #2, and the following, from the article:

"In Florida, most such poisonings have been attributed to tetrodotoxin, the poison traditionally found in puffers."

I am wondering why AP considers this fact about puffer fish to be: "news."