Borereng

NOT "boreng" and definitely not boring...

“Borereng” is the term used for the baby pufferfish or porcupinefish.  “Butete” is the most familiar and common term used to describe this fish in the Cebuano language.  Borereng really sounds cute to me. It has a very ludicrous meaning for me.  “Boreng” is the term we used to denote in referring to a prostitute, a shortcut to “burikat” in Cebuano.  But this fish is no way a prostitute, there's no hint of attractiveness and in fact, very deterrent due to its spines or in the case of pufferfish, it is poisonous. There’s not even a hint of red on it.

Dried "Borereng" sold at Malatapay Market, Negros Oriental for P80.00 per kilo. 

 It was very surprising though to see them in the market sold as dried fish. I learned from my friend that when they are young, they don’t have the poison yet and eventually accumulate the toxin through the food that they eat or from the environment where they live.  Apparently, their skin can accumulate or retain toxin as they grow. So that explains it. They can be safe to eat when young. Even as adults as long as you know how to take out the parts with the poison but why dare and why risk? Still, there are many reported cases of poisoning and even deaths due to eating this fish.

Interestingly, there is a storybook on the "Butete".

This book tells a story of a pufferfish with a Filipino name, Butete.  The poor fellow is discriminated by  his peers and community; even humans toss him out for being non-edible, all because of his looks: he bloatedly puffed up!
Author: Asela Hazel A. Gundaya

Size of pufferfish relative to a tea cup.


Fast Fact: Pufferfish are poor swimmers, but can quickly ingest huge amounts of water to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size.

IT IS BETTER TO JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE, THEY MIGHT BE NON-EDIBLE BUT THEY DO HAVE A SPECIFIC ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION IN THE REEF COMMUNITIES.