Be alert and careful in catching and eating crabs that you cannot identify because they can be poisonous.
A recent incident in Barangay Ransang, Jose Rizal town, Palawan, proved this after a 54-year-old fisherman was poisoned when he ate what was believed to be a devil crab.
The incident happened around 10 p.m. on October 7, according to his son, who identified himself to Palawan News as Abdul Dumaan.
Abdul said his father had just returned from fishing that day. He caught crabs believed to be devil crabs, which they cooked and his father ate. But around 9:30 p.m., his father reportedly began to feel numbness in his face and body and had trouble breathing.
“Nung matapos na niya kumain nang alimasag, mga bandang 9:30, nakaramdam na siya ng hirap huminga,” Abdul said.
“Nanginginig yung kanyang mukha hanggang sa buong katawan. Pagdating ng 12 na, halos hindi na siya makasalita,” he added.
They immediately called for rescue and brought his father to the district hospital for treatment. Fortunately, his father survived because he was only able to consume a single crab.
As of this writing, his father remains in the hospital.
Because of the incident, the family urged other fishermen and crab lovers to carefully check what they eat to avoid poisoning.
According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), there are two kinds of poisonous crabs—the devil crab (Zosimus aeneus) and the floral egg crab (Atergatis floridus).
In 2023, a resident of Zamboanga del Norte died, and seven others were hospitalized after eating a devil crab.
Experts said the devil crab, also known as the toxic reef crab, is poisonous because it naturally contains toxins in its body.
These toxins are not from what the crab eats but are produced by its own body as a defense against predators.
One of these toxins is tetrodotoxin or sometimes saxitoxin, both powerful neurotoxins also found in certain species of pufferfish and shellfish.
These toxins are tasteless, odorless, and heat-resistant, making them dangerous even after cooking.
