A new alien in the Italian seas
Red Sea tropical mullet reported by fishermen in Lampedusa
Once again, fishermen prove themselves to be sentinels of the sea by reporting a new alien fish: a mullet endemic to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Parupeneus forsskali. Its presence in the Mediterranean was first confirmed in 2012 in Lebanon and the species then expanded in the Levant Basin until reaching Tunisia in 2016.
The specimen caught on the island of Lampedusa represents the first discovery of the species in Italian seas. The Red Sea red mullet is characterized by a dark longitudinal band on the upper part of the body and a dark spot near the tail: the fishermen of Lampedusa, recognizing its characteristics, immediately identified the specimen among the native red mullets they had caught and proceeded to freeze it to deliver it to the researchers of ISPRA in Palermo, with whom a fruitful collaboration relationship has been established for decades.
The discovery of the species in Lampedusa is further evidence of the spread of alien species in our seas. ISPRA researchers renew the invitation to report captures and observations of unusual organisms to the institutional email alien@isprambiente.it and when is possibile to preserve the specimens.
