Long journey of Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) throughout the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Lagocephalus sceleratus is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean as well as the Red Sea, and more recently in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea. L. sceleratus in the Mediterranean has been first recorded from Gökova Bay, southern Aegean Sea in 2003. Since then, this fish invaded rapidly whole Levantine basin, especially western and southern Anatolian coasts, Israel and Lebanon, Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea, especially Crete and Rhodes, Egypt and Libya. The northernmost records of L. sceleratus were given from the Adriatic Sea in both 2012 and 2013. Lately, the fish reached to Algeria and Spain in 2014. Along the Mediterranean, we have just gathered a total of 53 recording locations for L. sceleratus and this compilation work presents the update of the spreading of this invasive species throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Considering the recent locations where L. sceleratus has been recorded, we advise the regional fisheries management authorities that the problem of L. sceleratus is not only problem of the eastern Mediterranean anymore but also all Mediterranean marine ecosystem. Recent developments show that it is time to work on a guideline to monitor its impacts and mitigate the negative effects of this species in the Mediterranean.