Brace yourselves...here they come!

[Guba]

I received this item this morning from the FGBNMS system.

Journal Aquatic Invasions - Volume 5, Issue 2 (2010)
Item #6

Alfonso Aguilar-Perera and Armin Tuz-Sulub
Non-native, invasive Red lionfish (Pterois volitans [Linnaeus, 1758]: Scorpaenidae), is first recorded in the southern Gulf of Mexico, off the northern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico (in press)

No doubt about it, lionfish are headed our way, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they hit the Flower Gardens. I'm certainly not looking forward to that at all. Like many of us, I've been following the "invasion" from afar, but now with those little monsters heading into our backyard, it's personal! Wonder who will be the first swamper to actually see one in the Gulf?

 

[thevalkyry]

When I was in Coz this past summer, our DM caught a small one in his shirt and brought it to the surface -- too fast for the fish. He got the bends. It was interesting to see him swell up.

Havent they put a bounty on these guys in the Carribbean? I thought all the DMs were catching any they could find.

 

[texdiveguy]

Lion Fish hand signal: Got from UK sourse but have seen other locations, wiggle fingers just a bit.

 

[psiborg1812]

Great. I haven't even dove the Flower Gardens and now they are going to be eaten up by those bastards.

 

[texdiveguy]

Great. I haven't even dove the Flower Gardens and now they are going to be eaten up by those bastards.

They won't EAT you, just sting the **** out of you, and they grow to good size!

 

[ZzzKing]

During our week and 17 dives in the Bahamas, I recall exactly ONE dive where I didn't see at least one of the buggers. One night dive I saw probably 10 or 12.

They may show up at Clear Springs and slug it out with the sunfish for Champeeen of the World!

 

[richerso]

Does anybody have the story on how the lionfish got to this hemisphere? I understand that nobody really knows the real story just because; but aside from that; does anybody have the credible story? stow-away on a commercial port ship? renegade freak typhoon/hurricane? transport by magic? irresponsible fish collector in Des Moines IA??? What's the story?

 

[Guba]

Richerso, I think I can safely say that it's impossible to know for certain the real story. Most of the scenarios you mentioned are viable...larval forms or young juveniles may have hitched a ride in the ballast tanks of ships, and/or irresponsible pet fish might have been released when the lionfish outgrew their tanks. There's one pretty credible report of a private aquarium with lionfish in their stocks dumping unfiltered water from the tanks into the ocean (more than one non-indigenous species was found on the reefs near that facility). The point is, we may never know for certain what happened. The sobering fact remains, however, that now there is practically nothing at all that can be done to reverse the problem. We can only attempt to find ways to mitigate it.

 

[ubt]

Dove last summer in the Bahamas on a wreck (artificial reef) not far from the ship lane going to the Nassua port. The wreck was in about 80 feet of water and a sand bottom. I think there were 8 lion fish on this wreck. Mentioned it when we got back on the boat and it was a ho-hum subject with the captain and dive masters.

2 weeks ago my wife and I were in Cozumel and the dive shop we dove with had posters, think "wanted posters" for lionfish. Ou divemaster had been laid up a couple of days after being stung trying to catch one it seems.

 

[carrielsal]

How bad are their stings?