--- title: "Nine People Die After Eating Sea Turtle Meat" description: "On the Zanzibarian island of Pemba, sea turtle meat is considered a delicacy — but it also, apparently, can poison and kill you." date: "2024-03-11" modified: "2024-03-11" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/nine-die-sea-turtle-meat" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "food poisoning" - "foodborne illness" - "sea turtles" - "turtle" --- # Nine People Die After Eating Sea Turtle Meat ![On the Zanzibarian island of Pemba, sea turtle meat is considered a delicacy — but it also, apparently, can poison and kill you.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* On the Zanzibarian island of Pemba, sea turtle meat is considered a delicacy — but it also, apparently, can fatally poison you. As the [*Associated Press*]() and [other outlets report](), nine people have died and 78 others were hospitalized after eating sea turtle on Pemba, an island in the Zanzibar archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The [veal-tasting meat]() of green turtles is, like in [other coastal communities]() throughout Asia and Africa, still a delicacy on Zanzibar — despite the [endangered status]() of the animals and, as this incident indicates, its predisposition towards severe and sometimes fatal food poisoning. Specifically, sea turtle meat can lead to chelonitoxism, a [mysterious foodborne illness]() that can occur when people eat marine turtles. According to one [paper about chelonitoxism]() from the hawksbill turtle, which is also [found in Zanzibar](), this type of food poisoning can cause all manner of serious problems, including gastrointestinal issues like nausea, vomiting and ulcers and, even more alarmingly, neurological symptoms like weakness, partial paralysis, and even comas. As of right now, it's unclear what exact type of turtle the people who died on Pemba ate. But postmortem toxicity reports found that all nine people, which included a mother and three children, had eaten sea turtle before their deaths. Unfortunately, this is far from the first time such an incident has occurred, including on Pemba itself. As the [*BBC* reported]() back in November 2021, seven people on the island died after at least five families were said to have eaten the local delicacy. Though it's clear that chelonitoxism stems from eating sea turtle meat, scientists aren't quite sure what causes it. While scientists believe that chelonitoxism is the result of [certain types of algae]() that sea turtles eat, the lack of definitive origin, as a [2016 paper]() in the journal *Toxicon* explains, means no antidote has been found. With the global poaching trade resulting in the deaths of more than a million sea turtles [over 30 years](), it's likely that this s[upposedly-delicious exotic meat]() has been consumed by lots of people. Given how serious — and mysterious — chelonitoxism remains, however, it may be best not to eat any [turtle soup](). **More on sea poisoning:** [*China Accused of Pumping Cyanide Into Ocean to Kill Life*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()