Public warned over ‘alien fish species’

THE Society for the Protection of Turtles (Spot) has warned that “more than 1,000 alien fish species” have entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, causing “sweeping ecological changes”, and that one of them, the venomous striped eel catfish, has now been found in the waters off North Cyprus for the first time.

The fish in question was first recorded in the Mediterranean in 2002, and was known to have invaded Turkish waters, but its presence in Cypriot waters has rung alarm bells.

It was first found after a fisherman collaborating with the Cyprus Bycatch Project caught one in his nets in the

Dipkarpaz region, and conservationists are now concerned that an increasing number of them may harm the biodiversity of the region.

“There are serious concerns that if this species becomes widespread, it will compete with native species and threaten fish stocks and biodiversity, as has been the case with other invasions,” Spot wrote in a press release.

There is also concern in equal measure about the venomous nature of the fish, with Spot noting that the striped eel catfish “has dangerous venom glands attached to its dorsal and pectoral fins” and that “stings can be very painful and can persist for a long time, possibly requiring medical treatment”.

As such, Spot advises “anyone encountering the species not to touch it directly if they can avoid it, and to report all cases to the authorities”.

Spot also called on “national and international authorities who depend on trade through the Suez Canal” to “ensure that preventative measures are taken to reduce the flow of alien species, since they are having a crippling effect on many coastal communities and damaging the Mediterranean’s unique biodiversity”.

To this end, Spot pointed out that invasive species such as the lionfish and puffer fish have already “received attention for hindering fishing economies, causing injury,

or damaging fishing gear”.

In order to help solve such problems, Spot recommended that “the best preventative action against such invasions is through fisheries management”, elaborating that “if we ensure that native fish stocks are managed at sustainable levels and provide Marine Protected Areas, native species populations can be restored”.

Spot believes that should this be carried out, “coastal ecosystems and fisheries may be more resilient to colonisation of these opportunistic alien invasive [species]”.

This latest discovery of a new invasive fish comes shortly after the launch of a campaign aimed at encouraging people to eat another invasive fish species, the lionfish.

The campaign was devised with the aim of encouraging the fishing and consumption of the fish in order to control its booming population.

Above, the plotosus lineatus. Main picture, when feeling threatened, striped eel catfish form ball-shaped schools with hundreds of barbels pointing outwards in order to deter predators.

A map of recent alien invasive species advances across the Mediterranean published alongside a report entitled ‘New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records’ in the Journal Mediterranean Marine Science, co-authored by University of Kyrenia lecturer Prof Dr Fatih Hüseyinoğlu and Spot’s Dr Damla Beton

The specimen reported from Dipkarpaz was one of 17 caught in one day