Professional fishermen of Heraklion are in despair. The reason is the population of rabbit fish and other “alien” species that have multiplied in the waters of Crete, destroying equipment and catch.
A typical example is today’s fish. A local resident caught a giant rabbit fish (λαγοκέφαλο) with a length of 70 cm and a weight of 8 kg, reports cretalive.gr.
Fisheries experts are calling for immediate action to protect and support professional fishermen facing an extremely difficult situation that now appears to have “become the norm”.
Unlike other “alien” fish species, which are quite common in the South Aegean Sea and are edible (for example, hermanos, γερμανοί), Eating rabbit fish is dangeroussince its tissues contain tetrodotoxin, a neuroparalytic substance that can even cause death.
For this reason, catching and consuming this fish is prohibited. Also, special attention should be paid if lagokephalos is accidentally caught in the net. It is advisable to remove it by wearing gloves to avoid an injection and the poison entering the human body.
In addition, this type of marine life can be very aggressive. Last year rabbit fish bit bather for… the butt.
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