Greece races to contain invasive rabbitfish after cannibal video and rising damage to fisheries

The cannibal experiment

A Greek fisherman released an entire rabbitfish as bait and filmed the response. Within seconds a school of the same species attacked, tearing the fish apart and leaving only bones. The footage, shared widely on social media, confirms reports from fishermen and scientists that the fish exhibit cannibalistic behaviour, especially when an individual is injured, weak or caught on a hook.

Fishermen at the front line

Stathis Evangelou, a 29-year-old fisherman from Astypalaia, told Kathimerini that he and his colleagues now catch between 100 and 200 rabbitfish a day. "They rip our nets, destroy our gear, eat the fish we need to sell, and sometimes attack them on the seabed before we can even pull them in." He identified several spots around the Dodecanese island where «thousands» of the fish gather.

“We want to exterminate them. We want them gone.”

The species, a Lessepsian migrant that entered the Mediterranean from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal, has been recorded in Greece since 2005. Its powerful teeth can cut through nets, longlines and other equipment, causing serious economic losses.

A subsidised cull takes shape

The Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food has drawn up a pilot programme for targeted fishing by coastal professionals, with financial incentives. The plan, modelled on a long-running Cyprus scheme that has taken about 100 tonnes of rabbitfish, has been submitted to the European Commission for approval and negotiation.

General Secretary Spyros Protopsaltis said there are “no magic solutions” and the species will not disappear. He noted that the Cypriot bounty (over €4.73 per kilo) is not attractive enough on its own and that the Greek price must be negotiated higher.

“The rabbitfish is not a simple fishing issue. It is a problem that affects the income of professional fishermen, marine biodiversity and public health.”

Caught rabbitfish cannot simply be discarded; EU rules require special refrigerated storage and certified high-temperature incineration because of the potent neurotoxin tetrodotoxin, which has no known antidote and makes consumption fatal.

Nationwide competition kicks off

On Saturday 20 June, a pan-Hellenic open fishing competition organised by Rhodes fisherman Michalis Karpodinis began. It runs until 30 August and invites both fishermen and ordinary citizens with fishing gear to take part. Participants post photos of their catches under a weekly Facebook post for a chance to win symbolic prizes from fishing stores.

“The winners will be all of us.”

Organisers hope the 40-day event will also create an informal map of where the invasive fish is now most concentrated.

What science says

The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (ELKETHE) warns that the rabbitfish has few natural predators in the Mediterranean, competes with native species for food, and eats commercial stocks. It calls for a combination of scientific monitoring, tracking of catches, identification of breeding hotspots and safe disposal protocols. The centre also stressed that recent media coverage has sometimes created unnecessary fear among the public.