11/22/2023 0 Comments Northern puffer fishInstead, both baitfish and predators moved around the Sound, continuing their game of tag, causing fishers to change tactics, locations, and depths. No matter how disruptive weather conditions tended to be, it was not bad enough to drive fish out. ![]() And so, that is the way it has been these past few weeks as Mother Nature drew from the bottom of the deck. ![]() Throughout, Long Island Sound water temperatures pushed the mercury to the high 70s, and seas moderated, giving anglers more fishing time on the water.įoul weather, debris-filled waters, fog, and threats of thunderstorms only deterred the skittish fishers but only egged on those nautically smart and experienced ones. Daily air temperatures fluctuated from the low to high 80s, accompanied by early fog and partly sunny skies. During this period, high waters and debris continued along with a lessening of showers, thunderstorms, and windy conditions. A wave of low pressure then tracked south before a slow-moving frontal system moved in, after which a Canadian high-pressure system built up into the region. However, it is recommended to take the time to learn the difference between a northern and southern pufferfish and act accordingly.Ī Great Lakes cold front advanced east and moved through the region, followed by a weak high pressure that returned the following day. As an aside, I cannot recall ever experiencing, firsthand or otherwise, a negative experience catching, handling, or even eating a northern pufferfish. As kids, we used to tickle their bellies to get them to blow up and then watch them awkwardly swim away. Mostly, northern pufferfish (sometimes called blowfish) are incidental catches by fishers looking for other bottom feeders. This clumsy swimming species is club-shaped and puffs up into a ball to evade predators by filling their elastic stomachs with water (sometimes air), blowing themselves up to several times their normal size. Its lower sides have a row of black, elongated, bar-like markings. It has tiny jet-black pepper spots scattered over most of the pigmented surface. The northern puffer displays black/dark green spots and saddles and a yellow-to-white belly. Because there might be a low level of toxins in the skin and organs, fishers are advised to thoroughly clean them of all skin and innards. On the other hand, the flesh of northern pufferfish is not poisonous. These fish have a wide range in the western Atlantic Ocean and should not be used for bait or chum and carefully be released when caught. It is believed that poisonous puffers synthesize their deadly toxin from the bacteria in animals they eat. They eat invertebrates and algae, with larger ones consuming clams, mussels, seaworms - even shellfish they crack with their hard beaks. Similar to northern puffers, they can be caught inshore and near-shore areas of sand and mud bottoms. ![]() Except for their prickly belly and undersides of the head, the body is unscaled. Smooth pufferfish are gray to olive-gray with a darker dorsal than below and have somewhat silvery sides. In Japan, they can only be served in restaurants where qualified fugu handlers work. These toxins cannot be frozen or cooked out and can be found in all organs of the smooth puffer, including intestines and even in the skin. The neurotoxins in puffers that affect the central nervous system are tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin, for which there are no known antidotes. However, a warning came out from the Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources regarding an increase of catches of southern pufferfish, which contain a toxin harmful to humans if not properly prepared and with the utmost care.įugu, as smooth pufferfish are known in Japan, are considered a delicacy but pose a serious threat to one’s health if poorly handled and not cleaned with the utmost care. Until recently, pufferfish commonly caught in Long Island Sound waters were of the northern variety, which were generally considered non-poisonous. Tasting somewhat like chicken and known either as sugar toads in the mid-Atlantic region or as northern pufferfish in New England, they are considered a delicacy.
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