Coverage of the poisonings on beaches on Auckland’s North Shore continues, with tests showing that the poison responsible is tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin found in puffer fish.
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“Test results have shown that tetrodotoxin, a poison found in puffer fish, is responsible for the deaths of two dogs, birds and sealife on Auckland beaches.
“The poison was found in the dead dogs’ vomit and in a sea slug sample taken from Narrow Neck Beach on the North Shore.
“Further tests are being carried out to find out how the sea slug came to contain the poison.
“Touching a dead animal on the beach could be enough to endanger human life, said Cawthron Institute algae specialist Paul McNabb.
He said that warnings for people to keep away from beaches were not extreme, because of the effects the toxins had on humans.”