Photis Gaitanos’ rough fingers adroitly untangle the venomous spikes of a lionfish from a net, throwing the exotic-looking creature into an ice-filled rubber bin along with other fish from the day’s catch. Lionfish, with their red and orange-hued stripes and antennae-like barbs that menacingly ward off enemies, threaten to decimate indigenous fish stocks, wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of the roughly 150 professional fishermen in Cyprus. The East Mediterranean has also seen another invasive Red Sea fish in the last decade: the silver-cheeked toadfish.

Fishermen in Cyprus are now targeting invasive lionfish, which have spread from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.