Fishermen in Greece are getting cash payouts to catch toxic fish migrating north into the Mediterranean Sea due to climate change.
The silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) is a torpedo-shaped species with prominent, humanlike teeth. Its skin and organs contain a powerful neurotoxin that can cause heart failure in humans if consumed.
Authorities say the fish, known locally as lagokefalos, have not been sighted in bathing areas at Greek island resorts. But in recent weeks, the fish have wreaked havoc for fishermen off the coast of Crete and several other Greek islands, chomping through nets.
“It’s got to the point where we might go out fishing one day and then spend the next three days fixing our nets,” Giorgos Kyriakakis, of a Cretan fishermen’s association, told Greek public broadcaster ERT on Friday.
“They eat our catch and damage our nets – that’s very costly,” he said.
