Greece fights poisonous pufferfish invasion

 

Greece fights poisonous pufferfish invasion

 

Athens is paying subsidies to fishermen to try to contain the proliferation of the marine pest.

 

June 26, 2026 5:18 pm CET

By Nektaria Stamouli

https://www.politico.eu/article/greece-fishers-seek-help-to-combat-pufferfish-invasion/

 

ATHENS — Greek fishermen are seeking government support to fight off an invasion of toxic, razor-toothed pufferfish that are endangering Mediterranean ecosystems.

 

The pufferfish have arrived from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal and typically measure between 40 and 60 centimeters. Their powerful jaws can bite through metal and bone, while their flesh contains tetrodotoxin — a potent neurotoxin for which there is no known antidote — meaning consuming it can be fatal.

 

It’s a prime example of how sea warming due to climate change and transit through the Suez Canal are altering the marine environment.

 

Given the damage to Greek fisheries, the government is now offering subsidies to fishermen to undertake targeted sweeps to reduce the pufferfish numbers.

 

In recent years, fishermen in the southern Aegean, particularly from the islands of Crete and Rhodes, have demanded action as their catches shrank and their nets were damaged by the pufferfish's sharp bites. But the invasive predator is now found in nearly all Greek waters, with increasingly frequent sightings. This year, the proliferation has expanded into the sea near Athens, creating a frenzy in the Greek media.

 

The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research estimates that pufferfish cost each fishing boat in the region €8,500 in damages and lost income annually.

 

“It’s an omnivorous fish that eats everything it encounters,” says Michalis Margaritis, fisheries officer at WWF Greece. “Octopus and clams are among its favorite foods."

 

“Due to climate change and rising sea temperatures, they find fertile ground in which to settle. They have no natural predators, and they cannot be consumed by humans, so they multiply rapidly and spread.”

 

Michalis Karpodinis, a fisherman from Rhodes, said that until a few years ago “we used to fish at 40 to 45 meters, but now we have to go nearly 200 meters deep to find red mullet.”

 

“I avoid the spots where I know there are frequently pufferfish, so I have no choice but to go fishing in distant places that are deeper.”

 

Cypriot fisheries have been hit hard by the invasive species, and the government now subsidizes the capture and removal of the fish.

 

The Greek agriculture ministry has announced a pilot program, modeled on the Cypriot one, to subsidize targeted fishing.

 

Fishermen will be paid more than €5.33 per kilogram of pufferfish collected in the scheme, which will initially be introduced in the southern Aegean and Crete.

 

Additionally, the government announced temporary fuel subsidies for professional fishermen of €0.16 per liter for April and May and €0.12 per liter for June, as part of measures to reduce operating costs.

 

“The purpose is to provide an incentive. It's more of a financial support program for fishermen,” Spiros Protopsaltis, general secretary at the agriculture ministry, told Mega TV.

 

“Since it arrived in the Mediterranean, [the pufferfish] has come to stay. The question is how we will limit its population,” he said. Fish would be targeted during breeding seasons, counted and then incinerated, he added.