US EditionCypriot fishermen battle invasive lionfish and turn them into a tavern delicacy
Cypriot fishermen and chefs promote lionfish as a delicacy to reduce invasive populations threatening native fish and fisheries, with around 150 professionals involved.
- Cypriot fishermen, including Photis Gaitanos, are catching invasive lionfish as they threaten local fish stocks and harm livelihoods.
- Gaitanos stated that fishing income has decreased yearly since the arrival of the lionfish and silver-cheeked toadfish.
- The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean reports that warmer seas are increasing the presence of invasive species.
- Cyprus' Fisheries Department stated that the Suez Canal's expansion has allowed Indo-Pacific species to invade local ecosystems.
38 Articles
38 Articles
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Eat 'Em: Ecologists Combat Invasive Lionfish with Local Cuisine
In parts of the Mediterranean, invasive lionfish have devastated local marine biodiversity, but an allegiance between fishermen and chefs may mean the invader has met its match. On the island of Cyprus, the strategy is now clear: if we can’t beat it, let’s eat it. Native to the Indo-Pacific the lionfish has been introduced to […] The post If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Eat ‘Em: Ecologists Combat Invasive Lionfish with Local Cuisine appeared first on Goo…
Unlike a few years ago when veteran Cypriot fisherman Fotis Gaitanos was fishing for the usual gilthead sea bream, red mullet or sea bass, he now hunts for invasive species that have made their way from the Red Sea to the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea and skillfully untangles the poisonous spines of the "lionfish" from his net.
Photis Gaitanos skillfully dodges the venomous spines of the lionfish with his calloused fingers, freeing the beautiful, oddly shaped invasive species from the fishing net and tossing it into a rubber box filled with ice.
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