A RARE but potentially fatal pufferfish has been caught off the coast of Cornwall.

The oceanic specimen is a highly prized delicacy in Japan, where chefs have to undergo specialist training to cook it safely. Parts of the exotic fish can produce a euphoric feeling when eaten, with some experts claiming that it is an aphrodisiac.

The catch was landed 40 miles off the coast of the Lizard Peninsula, hundreds of miles from its usual sub-tropical home waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.

Douglas Herdson, a marine expert at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, said: “It is an oceanic deep-water fish that normally lives in tropical and sub-tropical waters, so it is quite puzzling why it is here — though I rule out that it is evidence of global warming.

“They kill up to 60 people a year in Japanese restaurants. It is simply that the slime in the skin, the liver and the gut contains a poison.

“The chefs that prepare it are trained for five years.”

The puffer family contains a poison called tetrodotoxin, which is said to be 10,000 times more poisonous than cyanide.

Mr Herdson warned that people should not attempt to eat pufferfish. “You can only get poisoned from eating the fish, but people must make sure that they wash their hands if they do ever come into contact with a pufferfish,” he said. “If they get numbness of the lips, they must seek immediate medical attention.

Two specimens have been found stranded on the Cornish coast since last October.

Two pufferfish were also recorded off the Irish coast last month.

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