Turning a Threat into Opportunity: Aylin’s Pufferfish Leather Revolution
​
UNEP SPA/ RAC Mediterranean workshop hosted in Rome on Invasive species management.
January 2025
​
In the coastal town of Fethiye, Turkey, Aylin Ulman leads an extraordinary project that transforms a threat into a sustainable luxury. The invasive pufferfish, notorious for its toxicity and ecological damage, is being harvested for its distinctive skin to create eco-friendly leather products​
​
By capturing them, she is not only controlling their spread but also offering an alternative income stream for struggling fishers.
​
Le Puffer Youtube Channel
Pirañas del Mediterráneo: el invasivo pez globo tóxico que se come la pesca
.​
By: EFE News Spain
Dic. 7, 2024
​
La bióloga marina Aylin Ulman ha documentado 27 muertes por consumo del pez globo en el Mediterráneo oriental, además de 144 intoxicaciones, desde que los primeros ejemplares se observaran en el 2003 en este mar, al que ha llegado a través del canal de Suez.
«Probablemente sea la peor especie invasiva del mundo», cuenta Ulman en conversación con EFE durante un visita a la localidad costera de Fethiye, realizada gracias al apoyo de Earth Journalism Network, un proyecto de Internews.
Invasive Toxic Fish: A New Marine Top Predator?
Earth Journalism Network
Dec. 16, 2024
​
Pufferfish can reach a length of 80-90 cm and weigh up to 8 or 9 kilos, and are a threat to the local marine fauna because "they actually eat everything, from the bottom dwellers to the swimming pelagic fish," explains Professor Aylin Ulman, a marine biologist based in Fethiye, Turkey, who has studied this species for years. "They can hunt, they can eat barnacles, crabs, sea urchins or fast fish." When she undertook the first studies, "squid, octopus and cuttlefish were about 30 % of their diet, but now, cephalopods are only about 3 to 5%, and that's because their stock has been reduced so much."
Fashtalks with Fashwire
Interview with brand designer and founder Dr. Aylin Ulman.​
By: FashWire
Jan 27, 2025
​
When did you know you wanted to start your own brand?
About three years ago, it just felt right. There was a clear need for commercializing invasive pufferfish leather, because it is so beautiful, and we had a great opportunity to fill that gap!
Where do you find inspiration?
The overall goal of marine conservation is everything to me. Every project I take on, including my shark conservation work, is dedicated to improving the state of our oceans. I'm proud to say we are making lots of great measurable impacts!
Alerta por la invasión del pez globo en el Mediterráneo, la 'piraña' que se lo come todo
EFE NEWS
By: Ilya Topper
Dic. 19, 2024
​
Son como pirañas, se comen a todo bicho viviente. Se meten en tus redes, destruyen las mallas, se comen la pesca y solo dejan las espinas". Así caracteriza Gürol Göztepe, un pescador turco de Fethiye en la costa egea, el pez globo que desde hace dos décadas se expande por el Mediterráneo. Nativo del océano Índico, esta especie invasora, Lagocephalus sceleratus, llegó a través del mar Rojo y el Canal de Suez en 2003. Dos años después estaba en las costas de toda Turquía y Grecia y en la segunda década del siglo empezó a aparecer en el Magreb, el Adriático y en España. Con efectos nefastos para las aguas ya turbulentas del Mediterráneo, con una sobreexplotación crónica de la pesca...
Beat them or eat them: What should we do about invasive species in the ocean?
EURO NEWS, Yahoo Canada
June 26, 2024
​
“Aylin Ulman in Turkey, has developed a small company and she's taking the leather. And they are producing extremely, very beautiful clutches and purses, Karachle says. Ulman is the brains behind Pufferfish Leather, which uses invasive but not endangered species to make these unusual creations. As well as using these fish, they put a focus on improving their environmental footprint, as well as practicing sustainable fishing practices and eco-friendly tanning processes." Explains Paraschevi Karachle, a fellow marine scientist from Greece.
​
​
​​
Documentary: East Meets West
Lionfish University
May 2023
​
Dr. Aylin Ulman visits the Florida Keys to meet and learn from the American regional experts on lionfish management. This was a very important collaboration where they passed over their lessons learned for scientists to practice in the new Mediterranean invasion.
Balon balıklarının insan saÄŸlığına verdiÄŸi zararın boyutları ortaya çıktı
April 17, 2024
YeÅŸim Yüksel
Akdeniz'e kıyısı olan ülkelerden bilim insanlarının yaptığı araÅŸtırmaya göre 2004 ile 2023 arasında balon balıkları nedeniyle tüketimden kaynaklı 27 ölüm, 143 ölümcül olmayan zehirlenme ve 28 fiziksel saldırı vakası yaÅŸandı.
BirleÅŸmiÅŸ Milletler Çevre Programı (UNEP) verilerine göre Akdeniz, yüzde 20 ila 30'u endemik olmak üzere 17 binden fazla deniz canlısına ev sahipliÄŸi yapıyor. Yerli türlerin dışında 1000'den fazla yabancı türü de sınırları içinde barındıran Akdeniz'deki türlerin korunması için 1233 deniz koruma alanı bulunuyor.
Read full article>>
Akdeniz'de balon balıkları insan sağlığını tehdit ediyor
Nisan 05, 2024
Prof. Dr. Nazlı Demirel
Giderek ısınan Akdeniz, zehirli balon balıkları gibi yabancı türlerin istilası için elveriÅŸli hale geliyor. Balon balıklarının DoÄŸu Akdeniz'de insan saÄŸlığına etkilerini inceleyen yeni bir çalışmaya göre, balıkları besin olarak tüketen en az 171 kiÅŸi zehirlendi. Balon balıklarının denizde yüzenleri hedef alan saldırıları da yükseliÅŸte
Read full article>>
Akdeniz’de yaygınlaÅŸan balon balıkları saÄŸlık tehditi haline geldi
April 4, 2024
YeÅŸil Gazete
klim deÄŸiÅŸikliÄŸiyle ilgili güvenilir bilgileri yaygınlaÅŸtırmayı hedefleyen Ä°klim Masası‘yla olan iÅŸbirliÄŸimiz çerçevesinde, Prof. Dr. Nazlı Demirel‘in kaleme aldığı; DoÄŸu Akdeniz’de sayıları hızla artan balon balıklarının saÄŸlığa etkilerine iliÅŸkin makaleyi yayımlıyoruz.
Read full article>>
From invasive fish species in the Mediterranean to luxurious exotic leather and accessory designs
Magazine Leather Interview
January 3, 2024
Innovative business strategy to face the pufferfish invasion: Turkish production from pufferfish leather benefitting the sea, the fishers, marginalized women and the fashion industry​
Read full article>>
UNDP launches third cohort of Ocean Innovators
June 8, 2023
New York - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today launched its third cohort of four ocean innovators to demonstrate the compelling roles of marine spatial planning (MSP), marine protected areas (MPAs) and new environmentally and socially sustainable economic activities for a healthy and resilient ocean.
UNDP’s Ocean Innovation Challenge (OIC) will provide financial, mentoring and incubator support to these four ocean innovators, thereby contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14 targets 14.2, 14.5 and 14.7).
