Pufferfish – A migrant from Red Sea

The pufferfish has migrated from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, where it is causing quite a stir. It can be found off Cyprus, the Turkish coast or in the Levantine Sea (eastern Mediterranean), where it is considered one of the most invasive species. The pufferfish has a strong set of teeth and plates, with which it bites not only crustaceans but also mussel shells. It is also extremely poisonous, both to humans and to larger predatory fish. The pufferfish reproduces quickly and appears to be very adaptable. For example, it feeds on marine animals that have become entangled in fishing nets, which can lead to huge losses in fisheries.
The pufferfish is actually quite a pretty sight. A spiny, silvery animal with many dots on the top of its body, it can live for up to ten years and grow to a length of one metre. If it feels threatened, it will swallow large quantities of water and inflate into a ball that looks much bigger than it is, spoiling the appetite of predators.

If it is swallowed anyway, the predator is in for a nasty surprise. The powerful neurotoxin tetrodotoxin found in pufferfish paralyses the nervous system and, in the worst cases, can be fatal to humans. It is therefore illegal to catch and eat pufferfish in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Only in Japan have specially trained fugu chefs mastered the art of preparing puffer fish. There, the fish is considered very tasty and almost boneless.

It eats pretty much anything that moves and is dear to humans and divers: other fish, squid, crabs, shrimp, octopus. So in the eastern Mediterranean, the hunt is on for the pufferfish. In Turkey, there is a presidential decree on a capitation fee that the Turkish government plans to pay fishermen for every puffer fish they deliver, starting in July. By the end of 2023, half a million of the animals will have been fished out of the sea.

Pufferfish have become a problem in the Eastern Mediterranean because, like the invasive lionfish, they decimate other species and have few natural predators because they don’t belong there. Originally from the Red Sea, the pufferfish came to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, which opened in 1869, but it was not until 2003 that it was first seen in the Mediterranean, although it has since been spotted in Spain. Its northward migration is certainly a consequence of climate change and the warming of the Mediterranean Sea by almost 1 degree Celsius.

Here in Cyprus, the pufferfish makes life difficult for fishermen. Previously worthless to them, the fish bites into the nets with its four sharp teeth. It devours the catch before it can be hauled on board. Above all, it destroys the marine habitat, which is already suffering from chronic overfishing.

Bathing tourists and divers, on the other hand, have less to worry about, despite some horror stories. The puffer fish does not like divers or swimmers, it is extremely shy and prefers to live in deeper waters. It is not the animal’s fault that it is so hated. It just swims in the wrong sea, and that is man’s fault.

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marine life of cyprus, padi divecenter, Pufferfish