Meter-long pufferfish caught has become hot topic among Aegean fishermen

MUĞLA

An invasive pufferfish about a meter long, caught by an amateur fisherman off the coast of the Aegean province of Bodrum, has become a subject of serious worry among the officials and other fishermen in the area.

A lawyer, Göray Karadut, who has been diving and fishing in the seas for about 25 years, caught a meter-long pufferfish, which has been rapidly multiplying in the sea, while he was sailing in the waters near the Çavuş Island on Oct. 24.

Spotting the pufferfish 18 meters deep in the sea, Göray hunted the one-meter-long gigantic invader, weighing some half a kilogram with a harpoon.

Officials and other fishermen could not hide their anxiety when they saw the huge fish known to damage the Aegean ecosystem.

Reaching the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, a nightmare for the fishermen, the pufferfish is known for attacking people, threatening local species and shredding the fishing nets with its sharp teeth.

Due to the lack of a predator species in the waters where it is currently found, it is difficult to control the pufferfish from massively increasing and invading the Turkish seas.

In trying to prevent the invader species from spreading aggressively, the Turkish officials are rewarding fishermen with some amount of money in exchange for the tail of every pufferfish that they caught in line with a project.