First application in Turkey of the European Non-native Species in Aquaculture Risk Analysis Scheme to evaluate the farmed non-native fish, striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus

The European Non-native Species in Aquaculture Risk Analysis Scheme (ENSARS) was used to assess one of the most popular aquaculture species in the world, the striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878), in two locations of southern Anatolia (Turkey). The overall mean risk score generated for P. hypophthalmus by the ENSARS Organism module (which assesses the risks of introduction, establishment, dispersal and impact) indicated that the species poses a medium risk under current climatic conditions. All other ENSARS modules rendered scores that indicated a moderately low risk under current climatic conditions. However, the risks of introducing novel diseases and the actual use (e.g. deliberate introduction to the natural habitats or food market) of the species both attracted scores indicating a medium risk. Confidence levels were medium or high for all modules except the Socio-economic, with low confidence values also attributed to the risks for farming process of the organism, and its overall risk of spread into the wild during farming procedures and to marketing impacts. Recommendations are provided for further use of the ENSARS scheme, especially for a a priori assessment of potential aquaculture species in Turkey, where the sector has been remarkably developing in the last decades.