Lionfish Invades Florida
- Thread starter reefman
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Thanks for sharing this!
Interesting article, but I doubt they'll be able to stop or even really slow the spread of these fish. It's kind of like stopping dandelions from invading your yard when all your neighbors around you have crops of them in theirs. I've only been diving for 3 years & can't believe the way they've spread through the Bahamas areas. My first dive in the Bahamas I saw only 1 (Cool! a novelty), my second time there I saw 1 almost every dive (OK, somethings going on here), This last summer I did 2 live aboards in the Bahamas & was seeing a minimum of 3-4 per dive. It would be nice if there was a local species that would start preying on them (there has to be in the pacific, or they would overrun the reefs there, & yet they don't).
tiggrr
Contributor
^^I'm with her.
Thats horrible news. It was downright depressing diving in Freeport in November. Very sad to hear they are in the Keys now.
Thats horrible news. It was downright depressing diving in Freeport in November. Very sad to hear they are in the Keys now.
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tstormdiver, you probably know this already, but they have found them in the stomachs of grouper and snapper. Hopefully this will be enough.
Big G
Contributor
I'm pleased to see they gave Becky the credit for the discovery. I was on that Benwood dive with her and she told us ion the boat about seeing the Lionfish. It's great that she reported it and that R.E.E.F. followed up on it so quickly.
No, I did not. I'm mostly a fresh water quarry diver (who likes nice warm tropical waters for vacations
), so they aren't so much a threat in my regular diving areas (yet). It did amaze me to see how quickly they spread in such a short period of time. That's good to hear that something may be viewing them as a food source.
I've been wondering when they'd start showing up here. I did some dives in the Exumas last year and they were everywhere. Bahamain restaurants are placing them on their menus in an effort to encourage people to kill and eat them.
100days-a-year
Contributor
They are firmly established and breeding from N Carolina to Daytona.I see hundreds if not more every year.And higher concentrations every year.
Normally try to polespear a couple unless I am busy.
I got poked by one summer before last reaching where I shouldn't have.Owww.
NMFS and NOAA as usual are under reacting to actual threats and overreacting to perceived ones.
Normally try to polespear a couple unless I am busy.
I got poked by one summer before last reaching where I shouldn't have.Owww.
NMFS and NOAA as usual are under reacting to actual threats and overreacting to perceived ones.
Gilldiver
Contributor
In the summer time, they are seen all the way up to Rhode Island now. Year round they are well established up to Diamon Shoals in North Carolina. The only thing keeping them down further north seems to be that they will die off in bellow 65F water.
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