14 replies to this topic

[mattknepley]

Not the newest of news, but ran across it on NOAA's website so figured I'd add it to the "misery list"...http://oceanservice....s/lionfish.html

[littlen]

Agreed, it is believed that a hurricane washed out a cohort of several individuals from one system that were able to remain together, and thus began reproducing. The genetic research supports this theory. However, single specimens have been released into Florida waters over the last 30 years--but the likelihood that they came across one anothers path and started breeding is much smaller--although we cannot rule it out. P. volitans is a very fecund species with no known natural predators in the Atlantic. So only 2 individuals needed to cross paths. Other Pacific reef species are released into Florida waters all the time--to include inexpensive herbivores. Sightings are reported and organizations like R.E.E.F. are always out there removing these fish as they show up. I would hesitate to say that "there haven't been many lionfish releases". Most people do not come forward and report that they've illegally released a fish back into the ocean (or stream, or lake for that matter). One could argue that Lionfish are the "oscars" of the saltwater hobbyist; they look cute as juveniles and are fun to feed. As stated, they grow quickly and can eat larger and larger prey. Then they become just as unwanted as the 14" oscar that ate all your Glowlite danios. Initial cost of the problematic fish is not a deterrent when the [igornant] fishkeeper decides her or she can no longer adequately care for their fish. I'm sad to admit that I know people who call me up after they have released fish back into the wild to ask, "do you think Mr. Bubbles will survive?"

However it happened, the fact remains that their numbers need to be controlled. I am totally in favor with eating them. Give the grouper and snapper populations a little break.

[littlen]

In the Pacific, sharks, groupers, etc. that have evolved with P. volitans recognize them as food and keep their numbers in check and are immune to the venom. Here in the Atlantic, no such knowledge exists between our top predators and the invasive species. (It's this same lack of knowledge from our reef fish that makes them vulnerable to predation). Efforts have been made to try and actually feed freshly killed lionfish to sharks/eels/groupers--with some success. The thought was that once they visually recognized and consumed lionfish that they would begin to hunt them on their own. However, it was also teaching those predators that humans could provide a free meal [of lionfish] which isn't beneficial to the rec-diver community--most of which do not appreciate being that up close and personal with sharks. There are very few records of lionfish being found in the gut content of a predator, indicating that the lionfish had been hunted and consumed.

A big player in keeping the lionfish population in check are, believe it or not, sea birds! Lionfish produce floating egg masses that are carried by surface currents/winds which help this species disperse. In the Pacific, sea birds eat these egg masses and effectively 'kill' thousands of potential fish in one sitting. Our seagulls, for example, do not actively search for or know that these floating egg masses are food.

Essentially, it only took a chance encounter of 2 lionfish fish meeting, having a 1-night-stand and successfully producing thousands of new lionfish: most of which survived to adulthood and continue reproducing. Lionfish do not school and are not great long distance swimmers. They can be found in close proximity to one another on the reefs [in the Atlantic] because of their unnatrually high population, in conjunction with habitat preferences such as hanging on the sides and undersides of structure. The ability of this species to distribute their eggs and larva using the currents has undoubtedly lead to their "successful" colonization of our coastal waters.