Montenegrin, Croatian fishermen warned about new species of fish
10/04/2008
Marine
biology institutions in Croatia and Montenegro are attempting to
educate local fishermen about new -- and sometimes dangerous -- species
of fish turning up in the Adriatic.
By Ivo Scepanovic for Southeast European Times -- 10/04/08
This was the first documented blunthead puffer in the Adriatic. [Ivo Scepanovic] |
Marine
biologists in Montenegro and Croatia are warning local fishermen about
new species of fish, some poisonous, that have appeared in the
Adriatic's increasingly warm waters.
The Institute of
Oceanography and Fishing in Split, Croatia, and the Institute of Marine
Biology in Kotor, Montenegro, collaborated on a brochure about 28
species that have been discovered recently in the Adriatic.
Institute
of Marine Biology Director Aleksandar Joksimovic said the two
organisations decided to develop the brochure after a fisherman named
Ilija Rafailovic caught a blunthead puffer.
''We thought
it would be useful to warn fishermen about new species. The Croatian
institute had more information because more of the new species were
caught and researched there, so we asked it for help," said Joksimovic.
He added that while the blunthead puffer was the first to
be documented in the Adriatic, it is likely not the only one,
explaining that "it was a female and we believe it would have spawned
soon".
''The blunthead puffer's internal organs are
poisonous, especially its liver," Joksimovic said. He added, "Fishermen
used to catch it in the Mediterranean, mostly around Sardinia and in
the western Mediterranean."
His institute plans to search
for more new species in the Adriatic, as global warming is expected to
influence sea life further in the next ten years.
''Sea
temperatures in the Adriatic last summer reached up to 30 degrees
Celsius. ... The appearance of fish such as blunthead puffer that
prefer warmer seas confirms the impact of global warming,'' he said.
Through
the FAO AdriaMed project, the Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor
plans to collaborate with similar institutions in Italy, Croatia,
Albania, and Slovenia to help develop sustainable fishing.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com
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