The effect of thermophilic species invasion in the eastern Mediterranean is well-noted in the literature. During the last decade in western Greek waters, small-scale fisheries (SSF) catches exhibit increased relative contribution of rabbitfishes, which have originated from the Red Sea and inhabited the countryâs southeastern part since the Second World War. This study has used quantitative and qualitative information to assess the short-term economic effect of the rabbitfishesâ expansion in the SSF mĂ©tier targeting the indigenous thermophilic parrotfish in the South Ionian Sea. The short-term micro-level negative economic effects of the rabbitfishesâ invasion and the corresponding adverse effects on fishersâ economic wealth have been estimated. The results indicate attitudinal differences among fishers, although their local ecological knowledge may enable them to avoid rabbitfishesâ hot spots and mitigate the respective economic losses, that particularly for smaller SSF vessels already seem to be quite important. As climate warming may further facilitate the expansion of rabbitfishes, outcompeting parrotfish, the latter mĂ©tier may eventually become economically unsustainable. Fine-scale analysis at the mĂ©tier level enables addressing the specificities of social-ecological systems and can contribute to informed and more effective decision making related to SSF, which is an important building block of Mediterranean coastal communities.