Mediterranean Fishermen Warn of Expanding Giant Pufferfish Threat

Fishermen and residents around Crete and other parts of the Mediterranean are dealing with an unprecedented nuisance, the elongated pufferfish, a member of the pufferfish family. In a report by AFP cited by ynet, 43-year-old fisherman Alexis Harlambakis, docked at Ierapetra in southwest Crete, warned about the force of the fish’s bite and showed its large teeth. He said the fish are destroying the marine system and leaving little behind, with nearby boats showing fish caught in nets torn apart.

The species, whose name reflects its length of more than a meter, was first recorded in the Mediterranean about 20 years ago. Since then it has spread westward to the Strait of Gibraltar and also into the Black Sea. It is part of the pufferfish family, which can inflate rapidly when threatened and also defend themselves with a toxin that can be deadly.

On Crete, the largest Greek island, fishermen say their catches have fallen because of the fish. “It is an omnivorous fish that feeds on everything it encounters,” said 65-year-old fisherman Yannis Giannakakis. “Nothing really threatens it, because it has no natural predators among other fish.”

The danger is not limited to fishing. Earlier this week, an elderly Greek woman was bitten and needed stitches after being injured while swimming near the beach in the resort town of Varkiza, near Athens. Experts quoted in a Zavit report said the elongated pufferfish is an alien species that entered the Mediterranean from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal over the past 150 years, and a Tel Aviv University researcher described it as a top predator in the Mediterranean, with no evidence that adult fish are eaten by anything else. Harlambakis said the fish not only eat up his daily catch but also shred nets, adding, “If this were not my boat, I would have left the profession long ago,” and, “The situation is severe. You cannot make a living like this.” He said that after five days at sea, his nets become unusable and that even after two days of repairs, another 20 holes appeared the same morning.