This paper reviews various types of toxins contained in marine animals. Many of marine toxins are deeply associated with human life, from the viewpoints of food hygiene and public hygiene. Important toxins involved in outbreaks of food poisoning are the following low molecular weight substances: puffer fish toxins (tetrodotoxin and its derivetives), ciguatoxic fish toxins (cigutoxins and maitotoxin), northern blenny roe toxin (dinogunellin), carp bile toxin (5-α-cyprinol sulfate), clupeotoxin (palytoxin), paralytic shellfish toxins (saxitoxin and its derivatives), diarrhetic shellfish toxins (okadaic acid, dinophysistoxins, pectenotoxins and yessotoxin), amnesic shellfish toxin (domoic acid), ivory shell toxins (neosurugatoxin and prosurugatoxin), gastropod salivary gland toxin (tetramine) and abalone digestive-gland toxin (pyropheophorbide a). Also both paralytic and diarrhetic shellfish toxins are concerns to fishery economics since shipment of infested bivalves are prohibited. Proteinic or peptidic toxins are elaborated in specialized venom organs, e.g. spines of fish and echinoderms, venom bulb, venom duct, radular tooth and proboscis of Conus snails and nematocysts of cnidarians. When stung by the venom organs, they can be dangerous and even fatal. Peptidic neurotoxins (conotoxins and conantokins) from Conus snails and those from sea anemones are well characterized, but proteinic toxins especially from fish and jellyfish are very unstable, and hence their properties are mostly unknown. Besides the toxins described above, there are some other interesting toxins as follows: fish skin mucus toxins such as pahutoxins (choline esters) from boxfish and grammistins (peptides) from grammistid fish; fish serum toxins (proteins); freshwater clam Corbicula toxins (proteins); muricid gastropod hypobranchial gland toxins (choline esters); and annelid toxin (nereistoxin). However it should be emphasized that some marine toxins are useful to human life. Indeed, nereistoxin was a model compound for the development of a pesticide, and tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, Conus toxins and sea anemone toxins have been widely used as valuable ion-channel reagents.

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