The haharon hador is a fish that arrived in the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal in recent years and started endangering the local fish. Researchers from Israel and Cyprus are combining action to find ways to reduce its damage to the marine system
Neta Nissim, Zveta - news agency for science and the environment
"There are many fish in the sea" is a common proverb in the Hebrew language, but when we talk about the health of the marine environment, it is also important to add the question "What exactly are the fish in the sea?"
This addition is especially important when we look at the fish population that exists on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in Israel. The shores of the Mediterranean Sea in the State of Israel are very sensitive to invasive species, most of which arrive from the Red Sea, which is an extension of the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal. Because of the similarity in conditions between the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea and the great proximity to the mouth of the canal, certain species invade the shores of the Mediterranean, establish themselves there and thereby change the marine habitats and the ecosystem.
One of these fish is the zaharon fish and the most common of its species on the coasts of Israel is the "generation zaharon" (Pterois miles). The haharon hadhor, known from the coral reef in Eilat due to its bright colors (reddish-brown with white stripes) and the long, poisonous spines found on its dorsal fin. It is one of hundreds of tropical species that migrated and continue to migrate through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea. "In the studies done in the western Atlantic Ocean, where the hazron also invaded, they found that it has many properties that allow it to easily establish itself in different habitats," says Dr. Shabi Rothman, director of the fish collection at the Steinhardt Museum of Nature at Tel Aviv University. "His growth rate is very fast and he reaches sexual maturity very early."
"Another feature that allows the fish to establish itself and be such a successful invader is its ability to live in a wide range of environmental conditions such as temperature, depth, salinity, as well as the ability to survive without food for an extended period," adds Rothman. "Besides all these, the main advantage of the hahron is the very fact that it is a skilled hunter, the predator of many species of fish and crabs. As an adult fish, it seems that it has no natural enemies in the Mediterranean."
The hazron was first observed in the Mediterranean Sea in 2012. It was first observed in Cyprus and Lebanon and began to establish itself in Israel at the end of 2013, mainly in the north of the country. "During 2015, reports began to reach us from divers and fishermen who spotted the haharon also in the center of the country and in the Falklands at depths of 40-20 meters below sea level," says Rothman. "Later on, we saw that the Zaharon deepened its distribution even to depths of 55 meters and in 2016 it already set a depth record of 100 meters, when it was observed by an underwater robot as part of research on sponges. Today we know that in all the sampling sites of this study there are Zaharoni at a depth of about 100 meters, in front of Herzliya, Atlit, the Carmel and Achziv."
Protected in Eilat - invader in the Mediterranean Sea
The hazron is an invasive species that endangers the local fish species because when one species develops and thrives it comes at the expense of other local species. It preys on fish species that get in its way and creates more competition for food sources for the local predators that feed on similar food. Therefore, Harun has the potential to become a dominant species in the Mediterranean landscape.
"As the zaharon deepens its distribution, it reaches sensitive and important habitats that we are trying to protect," Rotman points out.
Rothman and Dr. Nir Stern from the Sea and Lake Research Institute in Israel recently held an international conference in collaboration with researchers from Cyprus on the Hazarron invasion of the Mediterranean Sea, where researchers shared the monitoring data with the aim of formulating policy recommendations and measures of action. "Although the species has been expanding its distribution in recent years, there is no organized research, treatment and legislation in Israel," Rotman points out. First, in Israel a unique problem has arisen in which the hazron is a local and protected fish in one of its seas (in the Gulf of Eilat), but invasive and harmful in another sea (the Mediterranean) and is still protected there within the framework of the law. Therefore, until recently the hazron was included in the list of protected fish in Israel, and to fish it a special permit is required."
This issue was resolved very recently with a release The update to the declaration of protected natural values, and now the lists of protected species in Eilat and the Mediterranean Sea are separate, and the zaharon remains protected only in the Gulf of Eilat but not in the Mediterranean Sea, where it is allowed to fish.
"Another issue that limits the possibility of treating Zaharon concerns the fact that the Zaharon population is mainly concentrated at depths greater than 20 meters, some of them are tens of meters deep, therefore they are only accessible to divers with sports equipment, or to technical divers. Diving for fishing purposes using devices is prohibited in Israel, even when the goal is to thin invasive and harmful fish, therefore special permits and appropriate insurance will be required to promote such an activity, which will respond to the case where a diver is stung by the fish's venomous spines."
Collaborate with restaurants
The hahron researchers from Cyprus presented at the conference the actions to reduce the hahron population in their territory as part of the "Relionmed-Life" project: development and operation of a surveillance and early detection system, training of divers and fishermen for safe handling through a dedicated collection system for hahron fish. The system consists of a plastic cylinder, on one side of which there is a funnel that allows the safe capture of zahrons during diving by using an arrow. After hitting Zeharon with the arrow, it can be "pushed" through the funnel at the opening of the cylinder.
The researchers from Cyprus also looked at finding sustainable solutions for the use of the collected wastes. They approached local restaurants to include haharon fish in their menus (after removing the spines, the venom remaining in the glands at the base of the spines breaks down during cooking), and approached jewelry manufacturers and souvenir shops to explore the potential for creating new sources of income by using the discarded parts of haharon fish. The group also conducts various studies on the subject, in which Dr. Rothman and Stern took part, who examined the history and demography of the Zaharon from the genetic point of view and found that the Mediterranean population is the product of several invasion events of different individuals from the Red Sea and not of a single event.
According to Rothman, it is necessary to adopt a more active activity in Israel as well among the citizens and among the authorities in order to deal with the problem of the Zaharonim. "We don't pretend to completely eradicate the presence of the haharon fish in the Mediterranean Sea, but to reduce its presence to a certain density, where its impact on the Mediterranean environment will be as low as possible," she says. "We established a Facebook group "Reports of invasive fish in Israel" whose goal is to use citizen science and get a picture of the situation from the divers in Israel regarding the prevalence of the hazron along the coasts of Israel, and thanks to reports from divers and fishermen we know more about the hazron on the shores of the country."
More of the topic in Hayadan:
8 תגובות
To all the sages who claim to violate the order of Mother Earth, I will remind you that the Suez Canal is an artificial canal made by man.. The Zaharonis got here thanks to us.
The main thing is that they "combine action".
Illiterate bastards
Once Iretras, once Sudanese and now Zaharonis. And what after? For the writer about nature, the poison is also from nature, the corona from nature let them
Because that's where it belongs, its prey and its predators.
Why in the Red Sea does the haharon not pose a threat? Every time the authorities or the authority of nature decide that they need to change the order of the world and nature, as they tried with the drakes and the species, but they didn't succeed, so let their blood flow, let nature do what it knows how to do for millions of years without human intervention, man only destroys the Nature. Including convictions for nature and the locked gardens.
There should be concentrated periods where the sports divers come in a concentrated manner and hunt them in the different areas. On the beach there will be a doctor for anything that will not be with an evacuation vehicle from the inspection. Also, the event will be supervised by the inspectors of the Nature and Parks Authority. During the hunt, the fishermen will catch the fish themselves and take it home to eat.
You can take an example of such activity from the Greeks who do it really professionally, with a certain amount of loot for each fisherman, it's really beautiful to see.
First of all, it is appropriate that whoever writes about fish
And on the sea the Japanese will learn the difference between
A "diver" who is a crew member on a submarine
to a diver entering the water with (or without)
breathing equipment,
That's why those who reported on Hazaron are divers
not "divers",
It is also appropriate to avoid unnecessary stress
And so also to avoid vanity like
"…..active activity…."
(active activity?)
For the body of the fish:
Anyone who has tried it knows that zaharon has white meat that is clean and tasty.
Therefore one of the solutions will be
As well as amending the regulations so that it is legal and possible to fish for sea bream in the Mediterranean Sea and then teach the fishermen that this is a fish that should and should be fished and teach the restaurateurs
and the crowd of diners
the benefits of haharon as an edible fish,
This also removes the pressure of the fisherman from other fish...
Do not touch nature. Even if there are changes, they happen by themselves, there is no need for human intervention. It's nature. And that's the beauty of it.