{"id":204000,"date":"2025-12-27T16:33:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T16:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/204000\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T16:33:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T16:33:14","slug":"cypriot-fishermen-battle-invasive-lionfish-and-turn-them-into-a-tavern-delicacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/204000\/","title":{"rendered":"Cypriot fishermen battle invasive lionfish and turn them into a tavern delicacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

LARNACA, Cyprus — Photis Gaitanos\u2019 rough fingers adroitly untangle the venomous spikes of a lionfish<\/a> from a net, throwing the exotic-looking creature into an ice-filled rubber bin along with other fish from the day\u2019s catch. <\/p>\n

Unlike a few years ago when he would have mostly caught local staples as sea bream, red mullet or bass, the veteran fisherman now hunts for the invasive species<\/a> that made its way from the Red Sea to the warming waters of the Mediterranean,<\/p>\n

Lionfish<\/a>, with their red and orange-hued stripes and antennae-like barbs that menacingly ward off enemies, threaten to decimate indigenous fish stocks, wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of the roughly 150 professional fishermen in Cyprus.<\/p>\n

The prickly fish has even made its way as far north as the Ionian Sea, where Italian authorities have asked the public to photograph and report sightings.<\/p>\n

The East Mediterranean has also seen another invasive Red Sea fish in the last decade: the silver-cheeked toadfish. Known as an eating machine whose powerful jaws cut through fishing nets, decimating fishermen\u2019s catch, it has no natural predators off Cyprus<\/a>, allowing its population to explode. <\/p>\n

That toadfish also produces a lethal toxin, making it inedible.<\/p>\n

Gaitanos, the 60-year-old fisherman, has fished for years in an area a few kilometers off the coastal town of Larnaca, once famous for its fishing bounty. Now, he says, it\u2019s been more than two years since he\u2019s caught a red mullet, a consumer favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been practicing this profession for 40 years. Our income, especially since these two foreign species appeared, has become worse every year. It is now a major problem (affecting) the future of fishing,” he said. “How can it be dealt with?\u201d <\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean says with the sea warming<\/a> some 20% faster than the global average, the presence of invasive species \u201cis progressively increasing in the western basin.\u201d <\/p>\n

Models show that warmer seas as a result of climate change could see lionfish swarm the entire Mediterranean by the century\u2019s end. Warmer waters and an expanded Suez Canal \u201chave opened the floodgates\u201d to Indo-Pacific species in general, according to Cyprus\u2019 Fisheries Department.<\/p>\n

The European Union\u2019s Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, a Cypriot himself, told The Associated Press that more frequent and intense extreme weather, often linked to climate change, could make the Mediterranean more hospitable to invasive species.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s taking a heavy toll on Europe\u2019s fishing industry as fishermen\u2019s catches diminish while their costs shoot up as a result of repairs to fishing gear damaged by the powerful intruders. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe native marine biodiversity of a specific region, as in the case of Cyprus, faces heightened competition and pressure, with implications for local ecosystems and industries dependent on them,\u201d said Kadis.<\/p>\n

Gaitanos, who inherited his father\u2019s boat in 1986, is not sure the fishermen\u2019s grievances are being handled in a way that can stave off the profession\u2019s decline. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to show the European Union that there\u2019s a big problem with the quantity of the catch as well as the kind of fish caught, affected by the arrival of these invasive species and by climate change,” he said.<\/p>\n

Some EU-funded compensation programs have been enacted to help fishermen. The latest, enforced last year, pays fishermen about 4.73 euros ($5.5) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) to catch toadfish to control their number. The toadfish are then sent to incinerators.<\/p>\n

Another project, RELIONMED, which began in 2017, recruits some 100 scuba divers to cull lionfish around wrecks, reefs and marine protected areas. The Cyprus Fisheries Department says surveys show that frequent culls could buy time for native species to recover, but it\u2019s not a permanent fix.<\/p>\n

What local fishermen are hoping will catch on with the fish-loving public is a new campaign to serve lionfish as a delicacy after its poisonous spines are carefully removed.<\/p>\n

Kadis, the EU Fisheries commissioner, said a social media campaign that began in 2021, #TasteTheOcean, had top European chefs and influencers plugging invasive species as a tasty alternative to the more commonly consumed fish. Renowned Cypriot chef Stavris Georgiou worked up a lionfish recipe of his own.<\/p>\n

For most Cypriots, local taverns with their rich meze menus that feature numerous plates different fish is the way to go. Although eating lionfish has been slow to catch on, many tavernas and fish restaurants have started to introduce it as part of their menu. <\/p>\n

The bonus is that lionfish is now priced competitively compared to more popular fish like sea bass. At the Larnaca harbor fish market, lionfish cost less than half as much as more popular fish like sea bass.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy incorporating invasive species such as lionfish into our diet, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity for the fisheries sector and at the same time help limit the environmental threat caused by these species,\u201d Kadis said<\/p>\n

Stephanos Mentonis, who runs a popular fish tavern in Larnaca, has included lionfish on his meze menu as a way to introduce the fish to a wider number of patrons. <\/p>\n

Mentonis, 54, says most of his customers aren\u2019t familiar with lionfish. But its meat is fluffy and tender, and he says it can hold up against perennial tavern favorites like sea bream.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they try it, it\u2019s not any less tasty than any other fish,” he said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LARNACA, Cyprus — Photis Gaitanos\u2019 rough fingers adroitly untangle the venomous spikes of a lionfish from a net,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[124812,50,1763,3093,138,4142,273,8321,263,111,139,69,18718,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-204000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-124812","9":"tag-animals","10":"tag-article","11":"tag-biodiversity","12":"tag-business","13":"tag-climate-and-environment","14":"tag-environment","15":"tag-fish","16":"tag-lifestyle","17":"tag-new-zealand","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz","20":"tag-oceans","21":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}