Thread by @Telegraph

⚠️Cyprus is on the frontline of a marine invasion.

🌊In recent years more than 800 species have arrived via the Suez Canal from the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean

telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…

🐡The species include parrot fish, the Red Sea goat fish, the dusky spinefoot, trumpet fish and new species of sea urchins.

“Fish like this are a catastrophe for the sea,” says Loucas Georgiou, standing on the quayside of the harbour in Ayia Napa in eastern Cyprus

The silver-cheeked toadfish is a fisherman’s worst nightmare.

❌Not only does it prey on native species, it is also highly venomous.

📏 They grow to a length of three feet or more
⚖️ And weigh in at a chunky 20lbs

telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…

🎣“They’re very aggressive, they destroy the nets, they eat the catch inside. They are very adaptive. The species established itself really fast. They can eat anything,” said Nikolas Michailidis, from the department of fisheries

🌡️Alien fish from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea are being drawn into the Mediterranean by warmer waters, caused by climate change.

This has been aided by the widening of the Suez Canal, which has changed salinity levels that previously acted as a barrier to migration

In contrast to the silver-cheeked toadfish, another new arrival in Cypriot waters is eminently eatable.

🦁The catch is that the lionfish, one of the most spectacular looking species in the ocean, is festooned with poisonous quills

🎣 Lionfish are to some extent compensating for the fact that fishermen are catching far fewer native species in the island’s waters.

But the overall impact of the arrival of exotic species has been huge

📉"Some fishermen are saying their income has been cut by 50% because of the damage done to their nets by puffer fish and the loss of their catch,” said Periklis Kleitou

🐡“Even if we removed all the puffer fish from Cyprus waters today, in a month they will arrive from other areas. Most of these species are here to stay.”

Read the full report from @NickSquires1 in Cyprus 👇
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…