- Crete fishermen will be compensated at €6.50 per kilo for silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) caught (starting late January–early February 2026).
- Silver-cheeked toadfish (also known as Sennin-fugu) cause significant damage: nets are destroyed, bait is stolen, other fish are eaten, and income shrinks.
- Fishermen warn that the compensation may be “δώρον άδωρο” (“a gift that costs you”) due to extra charges.
- A special incinerator kiln will operate at Heraklion Industrial Zone (ΒΙΠΕ) to burn fish remains.
- The ELKETHE study figures reported by fishermen: €1,850 in net damage and €3,800 in lost income.
- Separate outrage: Ierapetra port fees allegedly quadrupled, up to €820/year for a 12m boat.
- The invasive-fish paradox: the best solution may be culinary — catching (and eating) the invader.
For the first time, professional fishermen in Crete will receive compensation for every kilogram of Sennin-fugu they catch — the fish that has been chewing through nets, devouring bait, terrorizing smaller species, and generally treating the Cretan sea like its private buffet.
The proposed compensation: €6.50 per kilo, and it should begin late January to early February 2026, according to Giannis Androulakis, President of the Heraklion Prefecture fishermen, speaking on Radio Crete.
On paper, it sounds like a rare miracle: the state finally paying for the damage caused by invasive species.
In practice, fishermen say it is not a miracle. It is a spreadsheet fight.
“A Gift That Costs You” — The Hidden Costs That Eat the Compensation
Here is the part that makes Cretan fishermen laugh in the dark (the way island professionals laugh when they are tired of being polite):
Yes, Crete gets €6.50/kg — but Crete fishermen are also expected to pay for everything else.
According to Androulakis, the fishermen will be burdened with additional costs, including VAT, the collection and handling of silver-cheeked toadfish quantities, the rental of special refrigeration units, fuel, bait, and electricity used at the kiln/incinerator.
And this is why the compensation is already being described as “δώρον άδωρο” — a “gift” that quietly hands you the invoice.
A special incinerator kiln is expected to operate at the Heraklion Industrial Zone (ΒΙΠΕ) for burning fish remnants. The concept is environmentally responsible — but if the fishermen pay the operational costs, it turns compensation into a loop: money in, money out, no oxygen left.
What ELKETHE Says Fishermen Should Be Getting
The fishermen are not only asking for “more money”; they are pointing to specific, evidence-based damages.
As quoted by Androulakis, the ELKETHE study figures reportedly include:
- €1,850 compensation for damage to nets caused by silver-cheeked toadfish
- €3,800 compensation for loss of income
In other words, €6.50/kg is welcome, but it does not capture the full economic picture. It is the visible part — while the real damage is underwater, like everything else.
Another Problem Boiling Over: Port Fees in Ierapetra
On the same broadcast, Charalambos Tzarakis, president of Ierapetra’s professional fishermen, reportedly emphasized that the €6.50/kg does not address the core problem and strongly criticized the fees imposed by municipal port funds.
He claimed docking/mooring fees have surged dramatically, reportedly up to €820 per year for a 12-meter fishing boat, while in Heraklion he cited €117 and, for a 13-meter boat, €137.
When you combine invasive fish damage + rising port costs + falling catches, you get the quiet truth: fishermen are being squeezed from every direction, including from land.
The Tourist Twist: Fix It by Eating It
Now here is where some tavernas are brilliant, making tourism part of the ecological solution.
Kreta Pur describes Taverna Karampinis (Καραμπίνης) near Kali Limenes, praising a menu item featuring lionfish (Rotfeuerfisch) — another invasive species in the Mediterranean.
They say (translated):
“Abhilfe durch Aufessen” — “the remedy is to eat it.“
And honestly? This should be the island’s motto for invasive fish.
Because the Mediterranean is currently facing a very modern island dilemma:
- invasive species multiply fast
- locals pay the price
- ecosystems distort
- and the only “quick tool” humans have is… eating.
So yes, if tavernas can turn invasive fish into a desirable dish, the problem becomes:
- a market solution
- a tourist story
- a nature-protection act that does not feel like punishment
Silver-cheeked Toadfish vs. Lionfish: Two Invaders, Two Very Different Problems
Here is the clarification tourists need—because the Mediterranean currently has more than one invasive “celebrity fish,” and they are not interchangeable.
Lionfish (λεοντόψαρο) is also invasive; it spreads fast, threatens local species, but it is edible and increasingly marketed as a wise environmental choice: catch it, cook it, eat it. That is why tavernas sometimes serve it—tourists can quite literally help by ordering it. That difference matters.
If lionfish is the invader you can put on the menu, silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) is the invader the state is paying fishermen to remove from the sea.
Practical Safety Note: Silver-cheeked Toadfish Is Not a Cute Instagram Meal
One crucial reality check (especially for tourists reading Argophilia):
Silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) is widely discussed in Greece as a problem species and is associated with toxicity concerns (ciguatera-type risk depending on species and conditions). People should not improvise.
Crete’s absolute daily nightmare is Sennin-fugu (λαγόψαρο) — the quiet little underwater goat that:
- bites nets to pieces
- eats everything
- multiplies like it owns the sea
- makes fishermen want to scream into their coffee
Long-Term Impact on Crete’s Coastal Life
This compensation scheme is politically significant because it is the first time fishermen in Crete are being paid per kilo for invasive Sennin-fugu — recognition, finally, that this is not “a fisherman problem” but an ecosystem invasion with economic consequences.
But it is also a warning: if costs swallow up the compensation, then fishermen will remain in the same place, work more, earn less, and fix nets that should never have been destroyed in the first place.
And Crete’s tavernas may end up doing what policy struggles to do: create demand for the invader.
