Puffer Fish Catch in the Egyptian Mediterranean Coast "The Challenged Invaders"

Catch per unit effort (CPUE) and distribution of puffer fishes along the Egyptian Mediterranean coast were detected using commercial fishing operation during 2011 and 2012. Puffer fish were mainly caught by bottom long-lines followed by otter bottom trawls and occasionally by other gears (seiners, trammel and gill nets). The average (CPUE) from long-lines was 78.82 and 53.13 kg/day/boat during 2011& 2012, respectively, with a maximum of 101.7kg in autumn 2011 and 87.7kg in winter 2012; while the bottom trawler had an average CPUE equal to 8.70 and 16.77 kg/day/boat during 2011& 2012, respectively, with a maximum of 16.6kg and 31.3kg in the spring of 2011 & 2012, respectively. The percentage of puffer catch in relation to total catch of otter bottom trawl was 4.86% and 5.5% of the total catch of bottom trawlers during 2011, 2012, respectively. During the time of this study, five puffer fish species were identified; Lagocephalus sceleratus; L. suezensis; L. guentheri; L. lagocephalus and Sphoeroidespachygaster. They spread along the coast in various habitats (sandy, rocky and muddy) up to 150 m depth. L. sceleratus was the dominant, representing 97.8% by weight and 83.2% by number of the puffer fish catch with a length range of 5 to 83 cm. The present observation of some tropical puffer fishes reflected the change in the Mediterranean Sea biodiversity, which may affect the ecosystem and commercial fisheries, emphasizing the continuous investigation for the alien species to set up a special management plan for its exploitation.