ABSTRACT
Venomous animals defend themselves or their territory by using stingers or teeth, by venom apparatus as complicated as nematocytes or as simple as spines of fins. In the marine environment poisonous animals are more abundant than commonly anticipated. Nevertheless these animals are part of the marine food chain and may accumulate noxious compounds from man-made sea pollution (metals, industrial or agricultural chemicals etc.), but may also contain naturally occurring metabolites such as saxitoxin and ciguatoxin. Poisonous sea food like mussels, shellfish or fish are clearly associated with a phenomenon called red tide, the seasonally occurring change of water color due to a bloom of planktonic algae. A few, like scombrotoxism, the second most important fish poisoning after ciguatera, have public health impact; other poisonings are sporadic or even rare. Scombrotoxism or scombroid fish poisoning is important sea food intoxication beside ciguatera and shellfish poisoning.
