Watch out for those 4! Campaign on alien fish in our seas

(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 01 - Spotted puffer fish, scorpion fish, dark rabbit fish and striped rabbit fish: the four invasive alien species of tropical origin reported in the Italian seas have all arrived from the Suez Canal, for the first time in Sicily , to which attention to avoid unpleasant accidents.

This was revealed by the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Ispra) and the Institute for biological resources and marine biotechnologies of the National Research Council (Cnr-Irbim) launching the "Beware of those 4" campaign to inform citizens also on how to recognize them and monitor their presence and distribution in Italian waters, thanks also to reports from fishermen and divers.

The campaign is sponsored by the Ministries of Agricultural Policies,

The spotted pufferfish - Lagocephalus Sceleratus, first reported in Italy in 2013, has dark spots on its silvery-gray back.

The species possesses a powerful neurotoxin which makes it highly toxic to consumption, even after cooking.

With its mighty teeth it can inflict painful bites.

The scorpion fish - Pterois miles, reported for the first time in Italy in 2016, is one of the most invasive species in the world.

It is edible but you have to pay attention to the thorns, because they can cause very painful stings even 48 hours after the death of the animal.

The dark rabbitfish - Siganus luridus - and the striped rabbitfish - Siganus rivulatus - were first reported in Italy in 2003 and 2015, respectively.

Particularly invasive herbivorous species, they are both edible but you have to pay attention to the spines as for the scorpion fish.

Ispra and Cnr-Irbim invite fishermen, divers and anyone who has observed or captured one of these species in Italian waters, to document with photos / videos and send their observation on WhatsApp to 320 4365210 or post it on the Facebook group Oddfish - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1714585748824288/ using the hashtag: # Attenti4