Wednesday's foto - teehee, got there first!

[Scuba Jim]

 

[notabob]

Lobster Wreck, North Carolina. June 2003. (Yes, really. North Carolina. The one in the Atlantic. No kidding. )

This one's a little silty, but...

-Roman.

 

[Scuba Jim]

was that lionfish doing in N Carolina?

 

[notabob]

I have no idea... :huh: Actually there was more than one. A whole small population of them is living & thriving on that wreck. At least 5, possibly more. Photos above are of 2 different ones. No one knows how they got there, they just showed up. My guess is probably either freighter ballast or someone's aquarium. Seeing as this wreck is >63mi offshore, I'm leaning towards the ballast theory.

-Roman.

 

[Scuba Jim]

Who would expect to see lionfish off the East coast of the US!!!

They're obviously happy there and have adapted to their new home!

 

[gbundersea]

Non-native species are more prevalent than you think. REEF has an entire part of their program set up for reporting them. The red lionfish is one of the more well-known exotic species in the western Atlantic, and has been seen from New York to Bermuda to Florida.

Take a look at REEF's exotic species page here.
__________________

Greg Bunch
http://www.gbundersea.com
Home of the Digital Lens Dock, MXTENDER, Save-A-Lens Kit, and u/w photography

http://www.reefngom.org
Co-founder and fish ID instructor
REEF Field Station of the Northern Gulf of Mexico

 

[greenalien]

Not to hijack the thread but.....

What exactly does REEF do? Remove the non-native species and relocate it to it's native habitat? Does the non-native species have a negative effect on the marine environment?


I love all the pics posted here. I'm not a photographer(sp) yet but would like to pursue it in the future.

 

[Dee]

I'm running behind today...thanks!

I don't have any Lionfish but I do have an odd sighting.... ut:

 

[gbundersea]

greenalien once bubbled...
What exactly does REEF do? Remove the non-native species and relocate it to it's native habitat? Does the non-native species have a negative effect on the marine environment?

REEF generally just keeps records of the sightings of non-native species, and makes the information available. Any attempts at removal are strictly subject to the appropriate federal or state fish and wildlife agencies. There have been such sanctioned efforts to remove non-native fish species off the East Coast when isolated individuals or groups were found.

The problem is that the effect of such species is unknown. Something coming from a completely different environment may not have any natural predators in its new location, and could wreak havoc on that ecosystem, which has evolved naturally over a long period of time. Look at the zebra mussel and nutria as examples of the damage which introduced alien species can do.

 

[docmartin]

i found these in a more likely locale in sodwana bay, south africa.