Animal and marine life lovers welcomed last week a decision by Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel concerning two rare fish species in the Mediterranean Sea. On April 12, Gamliel signed an amendment to the law permanently adding the Goldblotch grouper fish to Israel’s list of protected marine species. The amendment also added the dusky grouper fish to that list — but only temporarily, for a period of one year. This second amendment prohibits hunting of the dusky grouper by undersea hunting rifles. If any dusky groupers are caught by default in fishing nets and could no longer be returned alive to sea, they could be commercially sold.

A statement issued by the ministry said, “As predators, the Goldblotch grouper and the dusky grouper are two key species of high ecological importance, which maintain the ecological balance in the sea by regulating the population of fish they prey on.”

The battle for the preservation of these two species is not new in Israel. Gamliel took her decision to legally protect the species last February, following two petitions to the High Court submitted by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and following a consultation process championed by her ministry. Back then, Gamliel said the addition of the two species would allow for a “balance between protecting biodiversity and ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea and ensuring that the livelihood of commercial fishermen is not harmed.”

Going back a few months, we can understand better the ongoing battle for enlarging the Israeli list for endangered species. A communique published last October — while SPNI was campaigning for the protection of the two species — said that the minister was considering adding two species of fish to the list of protected natural values in Israel, as these fish were not included in the protected species list that was published in 2019.