The silver-cheeked toadfish, an invasive, inedible species that is also an aggressive hunter, has hurt Cretan fishermen considerably by eating native fish, especially the red mullet, and tearing into their nets.
Although toadfish have been seen around Crete at least since 2005, it is only recently the government has decided to pay fishermen to catch them in an attempt to reduce their numbers.
Fishermen in Crete and other southern Aegean islands have welcomed the pilot program that will pay them up to €5.33 per kilogram of caught toadfish.
But the experience of Cyprus shows that such a program will not necessarily affect the toadfish population, although the local fishermen have welcomed the relief; that program started with a reward of €3 per kilo, recently raised to €4.73. Turkey has also enacted a similar plan.
A survey by the Hellenic Center for Marine Research found that Crete fishermen are losing an average of €6,500 per vessel due to toadfish predation, up to 30% of their annual income. For those on the island’s southern shores, the losses reach €8,000. “Just repairing the nets costs €2,000,” says researcher and PhD candidate Giorgos Christidis.
