A decade ago, Tunisian fisherman Ahmed Chelli's nets bulged with fish and octopus that he sold at the local market in the Kerkennah islands. Today, he pulls up only 'ISIS' — the name locals have given to the blue crabs that have invaded their fishing grounds in the fast-warming waters of the Mediterranean.
KERKENNAH ISLANDS, Tunisia, Nov 13 - A decade ago, Tunisian fisherman Ahmed Chelli's nets bulged with fish and octopus that he sold at the local market in the Kerkennah islands. Today, he pulls up only "ISIS" — the name locals have given to the blue crabs that have invaded their fishing grounds in the fast-warming waters of the Mediterranean.
Measurements taken by European Space Agency satellites show that, from June through September, the waters off north Africa and southwest Europe were 2 to 5 degrees Celsius above the 1985-2005 daily averages. Temperatures peaked at nearly 31C in some parts. "It has a very large appetite to devour all the creatures around it, becoming a curse on the fishermen in the region."While tourism drives most of the sea's economic activity, worth $450 billion in 2017 according to the World Wildlife Fund, there are millions who rely on the sea's bounty for their livelihoods.
Acute marine heatwaves can form when warm air temperatures coincide with stable ocean conditions - when there is less mixing between the colder, deeper layers of water and the warmer surface layer. Today, about 10% of these species are considered invasive, meaning they're likely to cause environmental or economic harm., for example, overgrazes seagrass beds, destroying plants that provide a key habitat for local species and sequester carbon.
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