Written by Osman Doğan, artisanal fisher from Kaş, Türkiye
Lionfish are both strange and beautiful creatures. Streaked with off-white and tiger-striped golden-brown, these tropical visitors drift lazily around Mediterranean rocks and reefs like miniature galleons, their wide fins spread like sails and topped with a crown of rippling spines.
But behind this beauty lies a sad and dangerous reality: the Mediterranean Sea is warming rapidly, drawing in more and more invasive tropical species. The lionfish, which entered these waters through the Suez Canal, is thriving in this new environment—bringing devastating consequences for native marine life and our livelihood as fishers.
I’ve been fishing in Kaş my entire life, first with my father and now with my wife, Emine. For years, we’ve been struggling against the growing impacts of climate change. In the past, our nets would be full, teeming with different fish. Now, there’s hardly anything. Invasive species like the pufferfish and lionfish have devoured everything. The lionfish is particularly voracious—its stomach can expand up to 30 times its normal size to accommodate whatever it eats, which is practically anything.
Once lionfish show up in your net, there’s nothing else.
It quickly became clear that if we wanted to protect our sea and preserve our livelihood, we needed to fight back against this invasion.
As lionfish began to fill our nets, we decided to turn the problem into an opportunity - by making them a source of income.
The hardest part was learning how to handle and prepare the lionfish safely. Like other tropical species, they have venomous spines along their fins and tail, making it difficult and dangerous to untangle from fishing nets. Once we figured out how to handle the fish, we had to find a way to market it.
Thankfully, after some initial hesitation about serving something so new—and potentially dangerous—a few local restaurants agreed to cook it as fish and chips. They soon added it to their menus, and people started to warm up to the idea. Lionfish isn’t the only invasive species being turned into a culinary opportunity. Rabbitfish, for instance, is considered a delicacy in some parts of the Mediterranean and can fetch up to 25 euros per kilo in places like Crete. Meanwhile, a multi-million-euro export market has emerged for invasive blue crabs.
But we can’t do all of this alone. To secure a future for small-scale fishers like us, we need the same level of investment and support that’s given to other major sectors of our economy. If these investments are made, future generations—our children and grandchildren—can take up this work willingly and passionately, ensuring that small-scale fishing remains sustainable.
This issue isn’t just local. Across the Mediterranean, small-scale fishers are facing the same dramatic consequences of invasive species and climate change. The goal is no longer to restore the Mediterranean to what it once was—that’s impossible now—but to adapt to the new realities of a warming sea.
When I look out over the water, I feel a mix of hope and concern. Our efforts to manage these invasive species and adapt to the changing environment are critical, but the larger challenge of climate change still looms. The future of the Mediterranean’s marine ecosystems—and the livelihoods of those who depend on them—rests on urgent action to reduce emissions and adapt to this new reality.
Every small effort matters. We’re fighting for our future, and for the future of the sea we love.
This story is provided by Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy, which works to advance the global 30x30 goal in collaboration with artisanal fishers and local communities for the benefit of future generations, in partnership with WWF Mediterranean Marine Initiative.
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