Cyprus fishermen at war with a toxic invasive species

DW (English)

A toxic invader is causing damage in the waters surrounding Cyprus. Silver-cheeked toadfish are tearing nets apart while fishermen, despite state support, are fighting a losing battle.

Transcript

00:00Mihaelis Petrou has been a professional fisherman for over 20 years.

00:05Year by year he sees his catches shrinking and his income declining.

00:10He considers the main culprit to be the silver-cheeked toadfish,

00:14an extremely toxic, inedible, invasive species that settled in Cypriot waters

00:19after entering the eastern Mediterranean from the Red Sea.

00:24It is a big problem that we have created, because in many places,

00:30we have eaten in the forest,

00:32we have eaten the worms, we have eaten the walnuts,

00:38we have eaten the walnuts, we have eaten the walnuts,

00:40and we have eaten many fish, after the Cuneggio.

00:45They eat the walnuts at night, they cut the walnuts.

00:49We have to deal with a lot of stress.

00:53We have eaten the walnuts at night, for so many.

00:58The constant increase in the toadfish population

01:02has led the country to intensify its control measures.

01:06Utilizing European funding programs, the government has put a bounty on the fish,

01:11calling on fishermen to catch and deliver them to the Department of Fisheries for Destruction

01:16in exchange for a fee exceeding 4 euros per kilo.

01:20You decide that if you want to fish, you can fish from the sea until June.

01:30But even now, you don't have to do it, since the sea is filled.

01:35Thank you very much.

01:36Dr. Louis Hagiwanou is a marine ecology researcher at the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute.

01:42He studies the impact of climate change and the spread of foreign invasive species

01:47on the marine environment of the eastern Mediterranean.

01:50According to Dr. Hagiwanou, the resilience of the toadfish

01:54and the absence of natural predators are not the only reasons for its explosive population growth.

02:01The last 20 years, I suppose, is more intense than the problem,

02:05because they started to change and change and other conditions.

02:08The conditions of the toadfish are more appropriate for the conditions of the toadfish.

02:14because of those who are associated with it,

02:18they come from the earth and the earth.

02:20While the other ones, the other ones, the other ones,

02:23they are difficult.

02:25They begin and have a hard time with an increased temperature.

02:28There are many examples of the Meso-Geo,

02:33which began either to increase in some areas,

02:37or to increase in the range,

02:39or to increase in the total.

02:40However, in the last 15-10 years, there was an opening of the U.S.

02:46The opening of the U.S.

02:48The opening of the U.S. has given them a more easy way to come to the Mediterranean.

02:59According to data from Cyprus's Department of Fisheries and Marine Research,

03:03150 tons of toadfish have been removed from Cypriot waters in the last three years,

03:09and 400.000 euros have been paid to fishermen in compensation.

03:15There are a lot of cats in the sea.

03:19Time per time, it's cheaper.

03:22Now, when they're over 4-4 euros,

03:27we're going to fish them,

03:30but it's not so much that it's like they're over 4-4 euros.

03:35It's very difficult to find a solution,

03:38which, if we can do this,

03:41and to determine the levels of the population.

03:44I believe that it's very difficult.

03:46What is usually happening in such cases,

03:50is that the nature, let's say, finds the solution.

03:54For now, no clear conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of the measures against the toadfish.

04:00Most likely, the eastern Mediterranean will have to learn to live with the species,

04:05waiting for some sign of ecosystem adaptation.

04:09To answer the solution,

04:12please note us so that you are halfway through the knowledge of the population population that's expected within the months.

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