{"id":32825,"date":"2025-04-19T11:34:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T11:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/32825\/"},"modified":"2025-04-19T11:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T11:34:10","slug":"croatia-panic-as-fish-that-can-amputate-fingers-branded-threat-to-tourism-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/32825\/","title":{"rendered":"Croatia panic as fish that ‘can amputate fingers’ branded ‘threat to tourism’ | World | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers have raised concerns over the impact of an invasive and toxic fish species in the Mediterranean<\/a>, which can cause severe injuries. A new study is warning the growing presence of the silver-cheeked toadfish in coastal areas is a \u201cdirect threat to tourism\u201d, especially in areas enjoyed by swimmers.<\/p>\n

The pufferfish\u2019s powerful bite can cause partial amputations of fingers, while its flesh and organs contain a potent neurotoxin which is potentially lethal if consumed. Researchers in Croatia<\/a> report there has been a fourth confirmed sighting of the species in the Adriatic Sea and the northernmost so far. The male pufferfish was caught in May last year in Croatia<\/a>\u2019s Medulin Bay – a popular tourist area – at a depth of nearly 20 metres.<\/p>\n

It measured 52 centimetres long and weighed 1.3 kilogrammes.<\/p>\n

The silver-cheeked toadfish originates from the Indo-Pacific and is believed to come to the region via the Suez Canal.<\/p>\n

Scientists say the species has \u201cquickly spread\u201d across the Mediterranean<\/a> since its first sighting in 2003.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study has been carried out by the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Juraj Dobrila University of Pula and the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split.<\/p>\n

It warns the species is known for its \u201caggressive behaviour\u201d and that its bites can cause \u201csignificant injuries\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlarmingly, recent evidence from the southern and eastern Mediterranean<\/a> shows that these bites can result in severe injuries, such as partial amputations of fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough such cases are rare, they highlight the potential danger this species poses to humans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report added: \u201cThese risks not only create safety concerns for swimmers but also threaten the image and appeal of tourist destinations, potentially leading to economic losses in local tourism and related industries.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also concerns over the fish\u2019s impact on the fishing industry, marine ecosystems and biodiversity loss.<\/p>\n

The scientists are calling for the spread of the species to be effectively managed through monitoring, regulation and also educating the public.<\/p>\n

They say engaging with local communities will help with early sightings of the fish.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Researchers have raised concerns over the impact of an invasive and toxic fish species in the Mediterranean, which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3847],"tags":[19311,19312,933,13490,728,299,10810,19309,70,19310,183,16,15,1717],"class_list":{"0":"post-32825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-adriatic","9":"tag-adriatic-sea","10":"tag-animals","11":"tag-croatia","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-europe","14":"tag-fish","15":"tag-mediterranean","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-silver-cheeked-toadfish","18":"tag-travel","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114364420257950677","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}