Crete gets to grips with invasive lionfish

DW (English)

As oceans grow warmer, non-native species are moving in. Lionfish are highly venomous marine creatures and in recent years they've reached the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. In Crete they're causing all sorts of problems.

Transcript

00:00 "When you open its mouth, it's full.

00:04 It's a huge problem.

00:05 They eat the young fish and all the smaller fish."

00:11 A few years ago, here near the eastern coast of Crete, lionfish were just a bycatch.

00:17 Now the nets are full of them, especially in early summer.

00:24 Today's catch isn't particularly good, but the crew did net plenty of lionfish.

00:31 One is trapped.

00:33 The spiny fish are venomous, so the fisher has to be careful.

00:37 "These here are the venomous spikes.

00:42 The venom is similar to that of the scorpion fish, except it's more poisonous.

00:48 So we have to be pretty careful."

00:49 Fortunately, the fish are edible.

00:58 Lionfish may be lovely to look at, but they're among the most invasive species in the world.

01:04 They arrived here through the Suez Canal and are thriving in the waters that have grown

01:08 warmer as a result of climate change.

01:14 Researchers say that encouraging local fishers to catch them and control their population

01:19 would help.

01:20 And lionfish are tasty, but they haven't caught on with consumers yet.

01:26 The port of Aios Nikolaos is just a few kilometers away.

01:30 It's home to one of the few seafood shops that sell lionfish here.

01:35 Shop owner Grigoris Kokolakis decided to take the plunge four years ago.

01:39 Today, his employees know how to remove the venomous spines and fillet the fish.

01:45 But so far, customers haven't quite warmed up to them.

01:49 "I have to promote it because people don't know it.

01:53 After the experts told us that it was okay to eat, we tasted it.

01:59 It had a good taste, good flavor.

02:03 And the fish is white inside."

02:07 Efforts are underway to grow the market for lionfish, like this publicity event in the

02:12 southeast of Crete.

02:14 Local chefs, hotel and restaurant owners were invited to sample various dishes made with

02:20 lionfish fillets.

02:22 It's a competitive industry, but here the participants can share ideas for recipes and

02:27 learn how to better market the fish.

02:30 Just as important, though, is that the organizers want to raise awareness of the ecological

02:34 benefits of eating lionfish.

02:36 "Our main purpose is to reduce the damage that the lionfish is doing to the ecosystem.

02:43 So we find out that we can promote it with different recipes.

02:49 So we say, 'Why not?'"

02:52 About 900 kilometers north in Thessaloniki, we visit the headquarters of I-SEA, an independent

02:58 environmental organization that promotes sustainable fishing.

03:02 They're also looking for solutions for invasive species like the lionfish.

03:06 In a pilot project, they're testing a special trap.

03:09 "The reason why we're using these traps is because they have less bite cuts.

03:14 So they mostly target, like they attract mostly lionfish and not native species.

03:22 Because lionfish are usually attracted by steady constructions."

03:27 When the lionfish gather around the artificial reef, the trap snaps shut.

03:32 The trap was patented in the United States.

03:35 Now the first fishers have started testing a smaller and lighter version in the Mediterranean.

03:41 I-SEA also works with scientists.

03:44 Marine biologist Stelios Katsanivakos explains why lionfish have become such a plague here.

03:49 "It entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.

03:53 It ate many hundreds of other species.

03:57 So especially the eastern Mediterranean is now quite invaded by many tropical species

04:03 from the Red Sea.

04:04 This new environment with climate change is much more suitable to their environmental

04:09 preferences.

04:10 When the Suez Canal was opened, and for the following decades, there were many obstacles

04:16 for the subspecies to arrive in the Mediterranean.

04:22 One of these obstacles were the salt lakes.

04:26 Gradually, the salinity was reduced, and now the salinity in this region is very similar

04:31 to the salinity in the Red Sea.

04:32 Now species from the Red Sea have essentially no obstacles to arrive to the Mediterranean."

04:40 Back in Crete, a batch of fresh lionfish fillets have just been delivered.

04:45 It's a specialty here, one of the few places that has lionfish on the menu.

04:50 "We offer two different dishes, with recipes created by our chef.

04:59 They include tarama and Scordalia garlic dip, along with various herbs.

05:05 They are some of the most popular dishes on our menu."

05:10 Whether local or tourist, everyone who tries the dishes is won over.

05:16 This visitor from Poland had never heard of lionfish before.

05:20 "This is my first time and I am very, very impressed.

05:28 This fish is delicious."

05:31 The boats have headed back out again.

05:33 The more the lionfish market continues to grow, the better - for local fishers and the

05:38 marine ecosystem.

05:40 (engine rumbling)

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