Fishermen in Kızılırmak Delta in northern Türkiye ask authorities to expand the hunting area for "Israeli" carp, an invasive species damaging ecosystems in wetlands.

Originally named Prussian carp, or carassius gibelio, the fish, one of 26 invasive species in the Black Sea region of the country, is called "Israeli" by local fishermen, in reference to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. The government already sponsors its hunt, supplying incentives to fishermen to eliminate its population. Fishermen hunt about 3 tons every year, but they complain that the area designated for hunting was rather limited and sought its expansion.

The invasive species proved harmful to the delta, which spreads across an area of 56,000 hectares. Though decreasing water levels also contributed to a decline in their population, they proliferated again when the water levels rose.

Mehmet Tekür, who heads a fishermen’s cooperative in the Black Sea province of Samsun, says the carp are highly dangerous to their nets and inflict damage on them. He hails the government’s assistance to fishermen by supplying free nets, but their fight against Israeli carp is "futile" as long as they are not allowed to hunt the fish in areas in the delta closed to hunting. "Fishing of carp helps protection of the ecosystem," he told Demirören News Agency (DHA) on Tuesday.

Professor Fatma Telli Karakoç, an academic from Karadeniz Technical University (KTÜ), says invasive species "harm every stage of the food chain."

"They damage the nets and fishermen have little use for them as they are not meaty and cannot be sold as much as they wanted. It is only good as bait for other fish. More importantly, they harm the other species, undermining fishermen’s livelihood," she said.