Lanzarote - Iconotropy and Ichthyoallyeinotoxism

The week has flown by but a nice and chilled holiday thus far but a few more days still to go where I’m starting to feel like a puffer fish myself. Now the lovely looking Salema Porgy I caught on this session is commonly known as sarpa salpa. 

However, in Arabic, this small generic golden striped fish is known as “the fish that makes dreams” thanks to the LSD-like hallucinations it provides to those who eat it.

This sea bream fish, which is found along the Atlantic coast of Africa and throughout the Mediterranean Sea, is said to have been used by the Roman Empire as a recreational drug, much like magic mushrooms are today. 

Well ok most of this I’ve got from my friend Google but hey there must be something in it…  

….Polynesians are also said to have indulged in the psychedelic fish for ceremonial purposes. The problem is apparently the trips are often demonic hallucinations, both auditory and visual, characterise the phenomenon known as ichthyoallyeinotoxism, a rare poisoning following the ingestion of certain fish.

Such poisoning can trigger nervous system disturbances and cause effects similar to those of LSD.

Why do some people eat sea bream with no apparent side effects while others are transported to a world of utter chaos of nightmarish proportions?

If everyone could take the trip of a lifetime, why wouldn’t there be more stories of Mediterranean meals gone wrong, of a black market of sea bream?

Anyway to the fishing, well it was out with the bimbo bread again where bites were plentiful the fish were not. Still all a learning curve and I love these little puffer fish, loads and loads of character 🐡

There were bigger fish around but they don’t appear to be stupid and we’re not really interested in feeding but almost spectators I suppose. The search for some smaller hooks continues, two pairs of cracked sunglasses that have ‘exploded’ in the sun, the wife’s nail glue coming to the rescue and somehow I’d tripped over a cactus on the balcony, there have been a few hazards on the way !!