According to the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, a fish that has never been seen before in the Adriatic has surfaced. It is a Monrovia doctorfish (Acanthurus monroviae), which normally lives in the Atlantic Ocean, from southern Morocco to Angola.

“The Monrovia doctorfish (Acanthurus monroviae) normally lives in the eastern Atlantic, from southern Morocco to Angola. After 1987 it began to appear in the Mediterranean and over time the number of sightings has increased to such an extent that it is thought to have a permanent population in the southern part. Recently it was even found in the Crimea in the Black Sea.

This year, this fish has been sighted several times in the Kostrena area. Of course, we cannot draw any conclusions as to how these fish ended up in the Rijeka area. All we can say at the moment is that there is a fish swimming in our sea that has never been seen here before.

The Monrovia doctorfish feeds mainly on plant matter, but sometimes also eats small invertebrates. It can grow up to 45 cm long. If you see this fish, please let us know and if you catch one, please keep it for further analyses which would be of great benefit to us. Thank you for the reports we have received so far,” wrote the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries on Facebook.