This thread is to promote the education of divers for the eradication of lionfish in the Caribbean and Eastern seaboard of the US. Please post killing techniques and tools, trip reports, pictures, videos, and recipes. We want to keep this a focused and informative thread.
Lionfish. Nothing is as beautiful to watch. Nothing embodies the danger and beauty of the seas like this majestic creature. They are calm and seemingly gentle, yet come with venomous spines that can deliver painful stings to any who approach too closely.
These members of the scorpionfish family are indigenous to the Indo-Pacific Oceans, The Red Sea, and The Arabian Gulf. But like many beautiful creatures, they often pop up where they dont belong.
The lionfish has been introduced by man to the Atlantic Ocean. They have been dumped from aquarium owners tanks into the sea. Movies made them popular to own and then carelessly discard.
This fish does not belong in our waters, and has no natural predators. It is believed that the first lionfish were introduced into marine waters off Florida in the early 1990s from local aquariums or fish hobbyists. They have since spread across much of the Caribbean Sea and north along the United States coast as far as Rhode Island.
Within a 5 week time span, they have shown to destroy the juvenile fish population of a reef by 79%. One large lionfish was seen to devour 20 smaller fish in a 30 minute time span.
Unfortunately, In the Atlantic Ocean, native fish have never seen them before and have no recognition of danger. Here, about the only thing that will eat lionfish is another lionfish -- they are not only aggressive carnivores, but also cannibals.
At this point, we must step in to try to correct the dangerous threat we have introduced to our already struggling reef ecosystems. Divers are in a prime position to help this cause. With proper precaution and tools, we can do our part to preserve the reefs and wrecks we love to dive.
Lionfish. Nothing is as beautiful to watch. Nothing embodies the danger and beauty of the seas like this majestic creature. They are calm and seemingly gentle, yet come with venomous spines that can deliver painful stings to any who approach too closely.
These members of the scorpionfish family are indigenous to the Indo-Pacific Oceans, The Red Sea, and The Arabian Gulf. But like many beautiful creatures, they often pop up where they dont belong.
The lionfish has been introduced by man to the Atlantic Ocean. They have been dumped from aquarium owners tanks into the sea. Movies made them popular to own and then carelessly discard.
This fish does not belong in our waters, and has no natural predators. It is believed that the first lionfish were introduced into marine waters off Florida in the early 1990s from local aquariums or fish hobbyists. They have since spread across much of the Caribbean Sea and north along the United States coast as far as Rhode Island.
Within a 5 week time span, they have shown to destroy the juvenile fish population of a reef by 79%. One large lionfish was seen to devour 20 smaller fish in a 30 minute time span.
Unfortunately, In the Atlantic Ocean, native fish have never seen them before and have no recognition of danger. Here, about the only thing that will eat lionfish is another lionfish -- they are not only aggressive carnivores, but also cannibals.
At this point, we must step in to try to correct the dangerous threat we have introduced to our already struggling reef ecosystems. Divers are in a prime position to help this cause. With proper precaution and tools, we can do our part to preserve the reefs and wrecks we love to dive.
