Lessepsian Migration with the First Record of the Red Sea Goatfish, Parupeneus forsskali (Fourmanoir & Guézé, 1976) in the Coastal Waters of Egyptian Mediterranean Sea

Not all the invasion through the Suez Canal is of negative impacts, the richness of Red Sea species
introduced through the Suez Canal (Lessepsian species) to the eastern Mediterranean coastline,
reaching a maximum of 129 species per 100 km2. Many Lessepsian species have positive impacts on
the ecosystem and biodiversity as well as securing food for millions of people in the coastal
communities. In Egypt, more than 50% of the Mediterranean catch is of Red Sea origin. In this
Chapter, we discuss the history of invasion through Suez Canal with the first record of the Red Sea
goatfish, Parupeneus forsskali in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters as well as the economic values
of the Lessepsian immigrants in the Egyptian waters. On 31 January 2016, a single specimen of this
species was captured from Alexandria coastal waters (31°16'N; 30°10'E), Mediterranean Sea, Egypt.
The collected specimen represents the first record of P. forsskali in the Egyptian Mediterranean
waters. This specimen has a total length of 26.5 cm, fork length of 23.0 cm and standard length of
21.5 cm and weighed 228.4 g total weight.