Not Your Average Fishing Trip: A Hallucinogenic Fish, by Aly Kostrub

           For hundreds of years, people have been using recreational drugs as a way to escape the real world. Most people use things they find in the terrestrial environment; however, the use of Sarpa salpa, or the Salema porgy, as a recreational drug dates back to Ancient Roman times. Consuming this fish sends people on a trip that is believed to be very similar to that of LSD. This fish can be found along the western coast of Africa, and as far north as Great Britain. With this small range compared to the size of the world, reported encounters are few and far between. Sarpa salpa is not just a delight to the palate, but it has the ability to send you on a psychedelic trip if you are one of the lucky.

           

            So, what’s the catch? (get it?) It’s called ichthyoallyeinotoxism, or fish-borne intoxication.  The dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, found in the fish would bring the users to have a “spiritual relationship with a higher being” (Staff 2015-2017). The initial effects of consuming the DMT allow the users to obtain their high and have increased concentration, where the side effects afterwards can leave the user with nightmares that could last a grueling few hours or for days at a time (De Haro 1998). With it being used across many regions for various activities, it raises the question if there is a cultural significance to this fish. Are indigenous peoples from these areas the ones who can hold the answers to many researcher’s unanswered questions? Only further studies and investigations will show.  

Salema Porgy, Sarpa salpa. 

© Pflanzio.com

            The Sarpa salpa gets its nickname “Dream Fish” and in Arabic “the fish that makes dreams” because of the hallucinogenic tendencies when the fish is ingested. The people who have been brave enough to try are rumored to have had very realistic hallucinations (visual and auditory) along with nausea, nightmares, vertigo, decreased motor function and multiple other side effects that brought about by disturbances to the central nervous system of the consumer (Blazeski 2016). This type of reaction is known as the ichthyoallyeinotoxism phenomenon, which is a type of food poisoning. The Sarpa salpa is not the only fish that causes this reaction. It can be caused by various fish found in the tropics whose ingestion also bring about the LSD type trip. Though there are very few reported encounters, it is said that these hallucinations are much more like nightmares. One report from 1994 says that after eating backed Dream Fish on a vacation in the French Riviera, a man experienced nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, and muscle weakness. He was so afraid of his hallucinations of screaming animals that he didn’t think he could drive. 36 hours later, he was fully recovered. Another report says a 90-year-old man was afraid to take himself to the hospital after hallucinating screaming humans and squawking birds and nightmares for 2 nights, for he thought it was just a mental illness. Thankfully, after a couple days the hallucinations and nightmares stopped (De Haro & Pommier 2006).

            You may be wondering what exactly causes these side-effects to occur. Researchers are not exactly certain, but it is assumed that it can be based purely on the Sarpa salpa’s diet. Part of the fish’s diet is a macroalgae, Caulerpa prolifer, and a seagrass, Posidonia oceania. Christian Rätsch, a German anthropologist, believes that the seagrass and macroalgae are carriers of DMT, which is a tryptamine also found in LSD. It is also believed that what part of the fish that is consumed and what time of year can determine if the consumer will experience these side effects. A study showed that certain body parts, like the head, can contain more toxins compared to other parts. The same study suggests that the fall season is when toxins are highest, but most of the reports are from the spring in summer. With this contrast, the information may not be useful in determining if seasons have an effect on toxicity levels in the fish.

            The Dreamfish, though quite normal looking in color and shape, can leave the consumer with quite an abnormal experience. Through toxins that very well may be from the fish’s diet, the time of year, or the body part eaten, the Dreamfish has the ability to give the consumer a high that is very similar to that of LSD. The nightmarish type hallucinations and extreme side effects can leave the consumer in quite a state of distress.  This fish-borne intoxication typically occurs in remote areas with few medical facilities.  From ancient times to present times, the Sarpa salpa has been taking its victims on the fishing trip of a lifetime.

References

Aligizaki, K., and G. Nikolaidis. 2008. Morphological identification of two tropical dinoflagellates of the genera Gambierdiscus and Sinophysis in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki 9:75–82.

Blazeski, G. 2016. Sarpa salpa is a hallucinogenic fish that was used as a recreational drug in the Roman Empire. The Vintage News. Available: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/16/sarpa-salpa-is-a-hallucinogenic-fish-that-was-used-as-a-recreational-drug-in-the-roman-empire/ . (March 2018)

Owen, J. B. 2014. The Salema Porgy, Hallucinogenic Delight of The Roman Empire. The Scuttlefish. Available: http://thescuttlefish.com/2014/10/the-salema-porgy-hallucinogenic-delight-of-the-roman-empire/ . (March 2018)

de Haro, L., N. Prost, J. Arditti, J. M. David, and J. Jouglard. 1998. Ichthyoallyeinotoxism: a rare pathology. Marseille Poison Centre Experience and literature. Toxicon 36(12):1738–1739.

de Haro, L. D., and P. Pommier. 2006. Hallucinatory Fish Poisoning (Ichthyoallyeinotoxism): Two Case Reports From the Western Mediterranean and Literature Review. Clinical Toxicology 44(2):185–188.

Doochin, D. 2016. Meet the Hallucinogenic Fish That Can Give You LSD-Esque Nightmares. Atlas Obscura. Available: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/meet-the-hallucinogenic-fish-that-can-give-you-lsdesque-nightmares . (March 2018)

Staff. 2015-2017. DMT Addiction and Recovery Facts. Recovery.org. Available: https://www.recovery.org/topics/dmt-facts/ . (March 2018)