Fugu is the Japanese name for a delicate dish made of cooked blowfish. Fugu dishes are enjoyed as delicacy. The best season for fugu dishes is during the winter. They are caught in the spring and raised until selling time when market price for their demand increases. Cost for these fine fishes can range from $20 a pound at wholesale price to almost $100 a pound on the market. In restaurant, fugu can cost close to $200 to have it cleaned and cut up. Consumers of these fishes say the taste creates a warm, tingling feeling.
      Although, fugu has been eaten for centuries, these fishes are becoming one of the most dangerous dishes. Eating fugu has been the "gastronomic" version of Russian roulette. The result of eating the wrong puffer could be puffer poisoning. The fish's liver and muscle can produce a toxin known as tetrodoxin. A pinch of this is enough to kill more than 30 people. The toxin blocks sodium channels in nerve tissues, which paralyzes the victim's muscles. Respiratory arrest is the cause of death. It is know to be 1250 times deadlier than cyanide. For more information on the dynamics of this poison and what is being done to prevent it go to my "Puff-Links" and browse at the articles.