The sun is shining from the sky, the heat is luring tourists into the cool sea off Croatia's coast. But voracious fish are spoiling the fun of bathing in the Adriatic.
What started as a slight tingling sensation turned into a real horror for holidaymaker Ivica Kocijan. “The fish started to bite lightly into my heel, so that you could feel it all around, which didn't bother me too much until it became more aggressive and tried to tear a piece of skin off my leg,” Kocijan told the Croatian portal Dnevnik.hr.
The fish are probably juveniles of the striped bream. They normally live in shallow to moderately deep waters near rocky coasts. And many Mediterranean tourists will know that the mini fish like to nibble on people. It is rather rare for them to become aggressive.
When it gets hot, they especially like to nibble
But why do they do this at all? Researcher and fish expert Pero Ugarković knows that the fish have an increased metabolism in the warmer season and look for additional food sources, reports “TZ”.
One of these food sources is parasites on larger fish or mammals. This is why humans are also popular. “They see moles, warts and wounds, and when they see a wound, the best thing they like is usually to peck at it,” explains Ugarković. The calluses on the feet are also popular.
Voracious fish also on Mallorca
Not only in Croatia, Even on the Spanish island of Mallorca, holidaymakers repeatedly report biting attacks by sea creatures. There, too, striped bream nibble on the bathers. Experts suspect that the increase in sea temperature associated with climate change is partly responsible for this phenomenon.
Normally, the attacks of the mini-fish are harmless. “They don't have teeth in the traditional sense. They just grab a small piece of skin with their mouths,” explains underwater scientist Velimir Vrzić.
However, the nibbling attacks can be dangerous. This is especially true if you go into the water with injuries: open wounds can become infected if the fish nibble on them.
The expert therefore advises: “I would advise people with open wounds not to go into the sea for safety reasons.”