A woman cleans blowfish at Sa Huynh Port in the central province of Quang Ngai. Despite local bans in many areas, people still eat the fish, certain parts of which are poisonous.

Police in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang have been unable to control the illegal blowfish racket, even after seizing more than 35 tons of the poisonous fish since February.

The catch, trade and processing of the blowfish is illegal in several Vietnamese localities, including Kien Giang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Blowfish are the second most poisonous vertebrate in the world after the golden poison frog. The skin and certain internal organs are fatal to humans but the meat is considered a delicacy.

Chief inspector Liem said part of the problem was that the current fines of up to tens of millions of dong were not enough of a deterrent to the smugglers who make huge profits in the illegal trade.

“We’re considering asking the province’s People Committee to implement stricter penalties for blowfish trading,” he said.

Busts make no dent

Kien Giang police seized 18 tons of humpback blowfish in the province’s latest smuggling bust on Tuesday, said Liem.

The drivers caught trucking the fish told police they had been carrying the contraband from Tac Cau Fish Port in the province’s Chau Thanh District to distribute in An Giang Province and the city of Can Tho.

Police fined the drivers VND20 million (US$1,125) and destroyed all the fish.

Investigators said it was the single largest shipment of blowfish discovered in the province to date.

On March 26, inspectors from the health department found household seacooking producer Nguyen Khac Huy processing seven tons of blowfish in the provincial capital of Rach Gia.

Under questioning, Huy said he had bought 12 tons of the fish on March 23-24 to process and sell to dried fish producers in town, according to inspection reports. He sold four tons of the fish before the inspection, he said.

One month earlier, inspectors discovered 200 kilograms of blowfish drying at another small residential facility in Rach Gia.

Nguyen Van Doi, owner of the facility, said he had bought the fish last November, inspectors reported. He said he had been selling some 200 kilograms of blowfish every two days.

On March 4, an inspection of the Vinh Trang Seafood Processing Enterprise in Hon Dat District unearthed 1.8 tons of blowfish, including 500 kilograms of dried fish.

Killer fish

Hoang Van Hung from Dong Hoi Town in Quang Binh Province died at the Vietnam Cuba Dong Hoi Hospital December 22 last year after eating blowfish.

A day earlier, the hospital managed to resuscitate 80-year-old Le Xuan Sen after he was admitted in critical condition after eating the fish.

Nguyen Thanh from Thua Thien-Hue city Province was killed after eating blowfish last October 18.

He and three others had cooked the blowfish while they were drinking the previous afternoon. They all ate the fish but Thanh was the only one affected.

In September 2008, three people from Chau Thanh District recovered at Kien Giang General Hospital after being hospitalized in critical condition from blowfish poisoning.

Nguyen Van Nhanh and his friend Nguyen Van Ngoc were rushed to a hospital in An Giang province last May after eating blowfish. Nhanh recovered but Ngoc died on the way.

A 2008 study conducted in Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, found that 97.4 percent of the local population ate blowfish somewhat regularly.

The Health Ministry has warned that most of the 66 species of blowfish in Vietnam are poisonous. The toxin is contained in the eggs, liver, gall, blood, gills, skin and belly flesh.

Female fish are more poisonous, especially in breeding season between March and July, according to the ministry.

The poison is very strong and is only half as deadly after boiling at 100 degrees Celsius for six hours.

Around 10 grams of blowfish meat can kill an adult in between 1.5-8 hours. Symptoms of blowfish poisoning include numbed lips and tongue before the condition spreads to the limbs. This loss of feeling is often accompanied by headache, bellyache, nausea, shortness of breath and in the worst cases can put patients into a coma and cause complete respiratory failure.

There’s no medicine to treat the poison, according to the ministry. Treatment focuses on supplying oxygen and providing injections to prevent cardiac arrest.

Reported by Thanh Dung