Source: AFP
Cypriots are getting worried over a lionfish invasion, a venomous invasive species, with scientists, fishermen and divers launching a campaign to reduce the potential threat of the venomous predatory fish.
An AFP video this week highlights the work of Cypriot researcher Louis Hadjioannou, along with Enalia senior research coordinator Carlos Jimenez and local fisherman Fotis Gaetanos.
The video shows how researchers and scientists dive into the sea off Cyprus in a bid to control the population of predatory lionfish, which have no known predators in the Mediterranean.
The outbreak in the Mediterranean is just a follow up from other regions of the world, after lionfish have colonised parts of the Atlantic on the east coast of the United States and the Caribbean.
Lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific, are equipped with harpoons and this genus of marine fish is venomous. The scientific name is Pterois and nicknames include zebrafish and devil firefish.
