“Populations of lion fish are doubling every year and they’ve not reached a plateau yet.” “Some fishermen are saying their income has been cut by 50% because of the damage done to their nets by puffer fish and the loss of their catch,” said Mr Kleitou. Lionfish are to some extent compensating for the fact that fishermen are catching far fewer native species in the island’s waters.īut the overall impact of the arrival of exotic species has been huge. It is only recently that they are being eaten.” Until a couple of years ago, fishermen would discard them. We just have to change the perception of the species and tell people that once you remove the spines, it’s delicious. “Because Cyprus’ waters have been overfished, 70% of seafood is imported, so lionfish can be a solution in offsetting that. “Maintaining the pressure on lionfish is important in keeping the numbers under control and as a bonus it’s very tasty,” said Periklis Kleitou, a marine scientist from Plymouth University who works on the project. It is all part of an EU-funded project called ReLionMed-Life which aims to monitor and control the population of lionfish in Cyprus waters. The fish are then donated to restaurants, which are slowly managing to convince customers of the merits of lionfish. Teams of volunteer divers are sent out periodically to spear lionfish and from time to time there are lionfish “derbies”, open to all comers, contests to see how many can be caught.
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The good news is that fishermen in Cyprus have learned how to handle the fish, wearing heavy puncture-resistant gloves when they cut the quills off, and are beginning to sell them to restaurants around the island. “Urgent action is needed to further mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the new reality of a warming sea,” the conservation organisation warned. With temperatures rising 20% faster than the global average, the Mediterranean is becoming the fastest-warming sea on the planet, the Italian branch of WWF said. The Mediterranean is in fact turning into a tropical sea due to rising water temperature, the World Wide Fund for Nature warned in a report released in June. Thirty years ago it was completely different.”Īlien fish from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea are being drawn into the Mediterranean by warmer waters, caused by global climate change. I’m 43 years old and I’ve been fishing and snorkeling since I was small. “If you go snorkeling, most of the creatures you see were not here 10 years ago.
We asked the Japanese if they would be interested in importing our puffer fish but even they considered them too toxic. “The fish contain a paralysing toxin – if you eat some, you stop breathing. They can eat anything,” said Nikolas Michailidis, from the department of fisheries. The species established itself really fast. “They’re very aggressive, they destroy the nets, they eat the catch inside.
The toad fish are then incinerated once a month in special furnaces, with around 50 tonnes burned each year. So fishermen who inadvertently catch the species are paid a bounty of three euros a kilo to bring it to port. Not only does it prey on native species, it is also highly venomous.īecause the flesh of the fish contains toxins, it cannot be eaten. The toadfish – also referred to in Cyprus as the puffer fish – is a particular challenge.