Save the grouper
WILDLIFE experts have identified a mysterious “monster” fish found on the shore of a reservoir near Lefkoşa as an Alligator Gar, a species native to the swamps and bayous of the southern states of America.
They say the discovery highlights, once again, the dangers of animal smuggling bringing non-native species to Cyprus.
Bus driver İzzet Çavuş, 45, found the dead fish, sometimes called a Crocodile fish, while walking around Gönyeli reservoir last Saturday.
He said: “I love wildlife and issues related to the environment. I went out walking around the lakeside bed and saw a creature that resembled a crocodile.
“I walked closer, and then I saw its crocodile-like jaw and teeth, then its fish tail. I was not scared because it was lifeless but I was very intrigued as I have never seen such an unusual animal in all my life!
“I then took photographs of it and posted it on social media. Immediately, I was contacted by the Taşkent Nature Park, whose wildlife expert Ulaş Şeherlioğlu arrived to examine the animal,” he said.
Mr Şeherlioğlu — who only last week gave advice to
Cyprus Today readers on the snakes and spiders of the island, said what was found, was actually a Gar fish, weighing 10kg and measuring 112cm.
At the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute connected to Taşkent Nature Park, he carried out a examination.
“We found nothing inside the stomach of the fish accept some fish bones. The cause of death could not be ascertained because the interior had decomposed quite a bit.
This incident once again, however, highlights the importance in preventing the illegal importation of animals to the country.”
“This fish species, known as the Atractosteus spatula, is not dangerous to humans, and can grow up to 3m in length and 160 kilos in weight. They can be legally imported with a Veterinary department licence for aquariums,” he said.
Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute Marine life expert, Derviş Çavuşoğlu said that the fish must have taken 10 years to reach this size. He said even if the fish had been left in the lake by senseless people, it lived there for a prolonged period of time.
Meanwhile, Biologists’ Association chairman Hasan Sarpten said the finding highlighted the existence of “biotrafficking.” “The fish is not a species that can form a natural habitat in our country.”
He criticised those who were “trafficking animals into the country for self egoistical satisfaction into an environment that it does not belong to them. It is believed that this fish was brought to be kept as an aquarium fish . . . but after many years was thrown into the lake.
“The mixing of these types of animals also poses a threat to our own animal species.”
FISHERMEN should be banned from catching groupers, one of the most popular fish on local restaurant menus.
The grouper, also known as “lagos” is a threatened species that needs to be protected, according to assistant professor Dr Nazım Kaşot, director of the Taşkent Nature Park Cyprus Environmental Education Centre.
Also an academic of the Cyprus International University, Dr Kaşot said: “Grouper populations are unable to grow properly because they are under threat from the Lion Fish.”
He explained that the Lion fish are coming from the Red Sea and settling into the nests of groupers which are native to the Mediterranean.
“This is placing the future of the grouper fish family in danger. Therefore, a ban should be imposed on hunting groupers, because their population is unable to replenish.”
He said there was a hunting ban on the grouper fish in Turkey, but there were photos of Turkish Cypriot fishermen on social media with groupers they had caught.
He explained that the balloon and lion fish species were also a threat to humans: “Many people have lost their hands — bitten off by these fish species in Turkey.”
He said the lion fish had “poisonous spikes” adding that there was a need to be careful.
He referred to a report conducted by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), which found that there were “more than a thousand types of species occupying the Mediterranean”.
The report also concluded that there were currently 100 species of the Mediterranean threatened by invasive species.