JimBabcock
Registered
Found out that Lionfish have finally been spotted in the Flower Gardens banks in the Gulf of Mexico. Started me thinking about what we can do to keep them from overwhelming the habitat.
While killing and eating lionfish does clear the dive sites we frequent, it does little to reduce their numbers in the shallows and depths where they exist in largest numbers and may do the most damage. The problem is that their natural predators don't recognize them as prey and/or lack the skills to kill and eat them. While you can't "teach" a predator, you can make make lionfish more noticeable and vulnerable to them. Do this by wounding and then releasing them. A wounded fish WILL attract predators and be easier prey. Predators that succeed will have a selective advantage, especially as Lionfish deplete their natural prey populations. Presumably, these Lionfish savvy predators will go on to hunt them in places we don't routinely go.
While spearing a fish and then leaving it to die is morally repugnant, it may serve to help restore the balance we upset by introducing these invaders in first place.
Obviously there are a lot of guesses here, but perhaps the newly infested Flower Gardens would be an ideal place to try tis out.
While killing and eating lionfish does clear the dive sites we frequent, it does little to reduce their numbers in the shallows and depths where they exist in largest numbers and may do the most damage. The problem is that their natural predators don't recognize them as prey and/or lack the skills to kill and eat them. While you can't "teach" a predator, you can make make lionfish more noticeable and vulnerable to them. Do this by wounding and then releasing them. A wounded fish WILL attract predators and be easier prey. Predators that succeed will have a selective advantage, especially as Lionfish deplete their natural prey populations. Presumably, these Lionfish savvy predators will go on to hunt them in places we don't routinely go.
While spearing a fish and then leaving it to die is morally repugnant, it may serve to help restore the balance we upset by introducing these invaders in first place.
Obviously there are a lot of guesses here, but perhaps the newly infested Flower Gardens would be an ideal place to try tis out.
