The government has “put a bounty” on rabbitfish at 5.33 euros per kilogram as part of a pilot program to eradicate the invasive species that threatens local fish populations, as reported by professional fishermen in Crete and the South Aegean. Rabbitfish are an invasive species native to the Indian Ocean and contain toxins.The incentive of 5.33 euros is significantly higher than the previous pan-European record of 4.73 euros per kilogram set by Cyprus, which implemented a similar program.
The government cites the need to protect the marine ecosystem and support professional fishermen with EU funds. Others, however, are extremely concerned about the structure of the pilot program, foreseeing the risk of squandering EU funds—as with OPEKEPE—which could lead to fraud and fines from the EU later on. As is well known, Greek taxpayers end up footing the bill for the latter, since the funds are either not recovered from those who received them or are not even sought from them for political gain.
Thus, skeptics do not rule out the possibility of seeing flounder being caught and transported from other parts of the country—which are not eligible for subsidies—to Crete and the South Aegean. They also do not rule out the possibility of artificially increasing the weight of the caught rabbitfish, e.g., by adding other fish or water before weighing. They do not even rule out fraud involving amateur fishermen.
To prevent these practices, strict controls are required—something the Greek government has not historically provided.
The experience from the implementation of Cyprus’s pilot program is not particularly encouraging.The rabbitfish population declined while the program was in effect and EU funding was flowing. However, rabbitfish reproduce rapidly, which is why their numbers rebounded once funding and the program were discontinued.
Furthermore, Cypriot fishermen, in their efforts to catch rabbitfish near the coast, are reported to have significantly reduced the population of other fish species. This is because other fish were also caught in their nets.
We do not know whether the Greek authorities are considering the long-term continuation of EU funding for this initiative. However, it is clear that something must be done, on the one hand, to prevent fraud in the pilot program and, on the other hand, to reduce or even eliminate the rabbitfish population. Obviously, specialized traps for rabbitfish and the reinforcement of their natural predators—such as dolphins and groupers—through a ban on overfishing could be another measure.
Even so, Greece should promote the use of the toxin from porcupinefish caught for pharmaceutical purposes. Asian countries, led by Japan, purchase the toxin and manufacture painkillers for cancer patients in collaboration with universities and specialized laboratories.
This requires freezing the fish and transporting them safely to specialized centers abroad, with the necessary certification. Greece could perhaps follow the example of Turkey, which, through a university, is attempting to isolate the toxin from rabbit-headed lizards and export it to foreign pharmaceutical companies.
In short, the bounty on rabbitfish does not appear capable of changing the situation in the medium term, but only of reducing their population in the short term. On the other hand, the across-the-board subsidy encourages the creation of Greek “fraudulent patents,” as has happened in the past. The fact that this is being implemented during an election campaign reinforces suspicions that the distribution of EU funds is not entirely above board.