It can inflate to the size of a soccer ball, and should be avoided by any World Cup fans wishing to return home safely from Japan. A tropical puffer fish has been caught by a fishing vessel off the Kerry coast.
The puffer is one of numerous surprises from the sea of late, the most recent being dolphins close to downtown Dublin yesterday.
Also known as a blowfish or globefish, the puffer is a spiny skinned warm water fish which can self-inflate. There are about 90 known species, some of which are poisonous.
In Japan, the deadly fugu, as it is known, is a delicacy consumed by gourmets with a taste for danger, as there are up to 40 fugu-associated fatalities recorded every year. Several slivers can fetch up to $400, but the flesh can turn toxic if touched by either the liver or reproductive organs.
Mr Kevin Flannery, of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, said the specimen was caught by the Ocean Gain II, owned by Mr Liam O'Sullivan, of Fenit, north-west of Brandon Bay, last week. The fish is currently being preserved and will be sent to the Natural History Museum in Dublin.
Mr Flannery said it was not the first time it had been caught here - but he believed it was only the third occasion since rare fish records began. It could point to further evidence of climate change.
Yesterday afternoon dockers working in Dublin's Alexandra Basin were joined by several dolphins in what is believed to be the creatures' closest encounter with the city centre.
Mr Thomas Beggs, who spotted the school, said he had not seen anything like it in his 40 years as a docker.
"Maybe it's the weather. Or it could be an old docker just coming back to guide us," he told RTÉ.
Last month, there were other rare visitors when warm water anchovies were confirmed off the Donegal coast at Malin Head.
A group of up to 50 common dolphins has been feeding in Cork harbour over the past week. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group reported the first sighting on January 9th by Whitegate oil refinery. In February of last year, up to 1,000 of the animals entered the harbour.