Status of alien species in the Mediterranean and Black Sea

Israel
48
The most comprehensive catch records have been made for the Israeli fishery. The catch of the
Erythrean (lessepsian) species has been estimated at approximately a third of the total landing since
1954 (Galil, 1993). Nearly half of the trawl catches along the Israeli coast consists of lessepsian fish
(Golani and Ben Tuvia, 1995). The lizard fish, Saurida undosquamis, was caught in Israel for the first
time in 1952; only three years later 266 tonnes were landed by local trawlers, constituting almost
20 percent of the total trawler catch (Ben-Yami and Glaser, 1974). The dominant fish in the inshore
fisheries (trammel-netting and hook-and-lining) are the rabbit fish Siganus rivulatus and S. luridus,
blunt barracuda Sphyraena chrysotaenia, and Erythrean jack, Alepes djedaba. The above species,
together with Sillago sihama and Scomeromorus commerson, are common in purse-seine landings.
The annual catch of the lizardfish which reached 400 tonnes in 1960 soon after its arrival declined to
100 tonnes in the mid-1960s, but has increased since then and catch fluctuations are correlated with
the catch per unit of effort (CPUE). Catch statistics for mullids do not distinguish between the natives,
Mullus barbatus and M. surmuletus and the alien fish Upeneus moluccensis and U. pori, but a study of
the frequency of the latter in trawl catches conducted in the mid-1980s showed that they formed
87 percent of the mullid catch off the coast of Israel at depth of 20 m, and 50 percent at 55 m, whereas
the native mullids are more abundant in deeper waters (Golani and Ben Tuvia, 1995). The percentage
of the Erythrean mullids in the total mullid catch has increased steadily; from 30 percent in 1980,
42 percent in 1984, to 47 percent in 1989 (Golani and Ben Tuvia, 1995).
Similarly, the catch statistics of sphyraenids do not separate the Red Sea blunt barracuda from native
Mediterranean species S. sphyraena and S viridensis. However, the examination of the landed catch
showed that the lessepsian barracuda had outnumbered the native sphyraenids in inshore trawl and
purse-seine catches (Grofit, 1987).
Golani (2006) reported the Indian shad, Decapterus russelii, from the Israeli coast. If this fish
successfully colonizes, it may become one of the commercial fish species in the region.
Lebanon
In southern Lebanon, lessepsian fish species constituted 37 percent in the weight of the total landings
of the artisanal fishery (Carpentieri et al., 2008). In Lebanon, Spanish mackerel S. commerson has
become abundant in recent years and this species is exploited by large mesh size gillnet. Several alien
fishes have now become common in the local markets, characterizing the fish community of the
southern Lebanese coast as a mixed Mediterranean-Red Sea composition and even exported to the
Gulf countries.
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Shakman and Kinzelbach (2007) mentioned six lessepsian fish species from the Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya and more than 37 percent of all lessepsian species have become commercially valuable,
especially rabbit fish (Siganus spp.) on the Libyan coasts. These species are now found regularly in the
Libyan catch. Ten species (62.5 percent), however, are characterized as having no commercial value.
Malta
Sciberras and Schembri (2007) reported 13 fish species. Until recently, no alien species that has
established itself in the wild in Maltese waters has been commercially exploited in Malta. However,
recently, a small number of Siganus luridus appeared in oneof the local fish markets. This species is
not targetted but if caught it is offered for sale by individual fishers (pers.com.P.Schembri).