Fish toxins
plant derivatives that are poisonous to fish
Fish toxins or fish stupefying plants have historically been used by many hunter gatherer cultures to stun fish, so they become easy to collect by hand. Some of these toxins paralyse fish, which can then be easily collected. The process of documenting many fish toxins and their use is ongoing, with interest in potential uses from medicine, agriculture, and industry.
Theory
Use of the herbal fish poisons has been documented in a number of sources involving catching fish from fresh and sea water.
Tribal people historically used various plants for medicinal and food exploitation purposes. Use of fish poisons is a very old practice in the history of humankind. In 1212 AD, King Frederick II prohibited the use of certain plant piscicides, and by the 15th century, similar laws had been decreed in other European countries, as well. All over the globe, indigenous people use various fish poisons to kill fish, including America and among Tarahumara Indians.
Herbal fish-stupefying agents are proven means of fishing. Many of these plants have been used for a long time by local people, and have been tested and found to have medicinal properties, such as Careya arborea, which is used as analgesic and antidiarrheal.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Fish toxins” as plant derivatives that are poisonous to fish. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as plant derivatives that are poisonous to fish. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5454686. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1212.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fish toxins” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.