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The invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans/miles
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Though they're best known as a favorite attraction in tropical aquariums, lionfish, natives of the Indo-Pacific, are becoming a very serious threat to marine habitats across the Caribbean and Atlantic. Though no one knows for sure, scientists think that lionfish were accidentally introduced to the Caribbean by aquarium hobbyists. In the late 1990s, divers and fishermen began spotting them in Florida but thought little of them. However, in the following ten short years the US Geological Survey has chronicled their remarkable spread across the Bahamas, up the eastern coast of the United States as far as New England, to the coasts of Central and South America, and into the Gulf of Mexico!
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Sightings of lionfish in the Caribbean, from 1999-2009
(figure adapted from http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/lionfish_progression/lionfish_progression.html)
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So how did the lionfish population explode so quickly? These new members of our marine communities waste no time. They can start reproducing after only one year, and in their long (15 year) lifetimes can release many millions of eggs that travel thousands of miles on ocean currents.
The lionfish are also aggressive predators - they can engulf fish that are up to 50% of their own size! And they're not picky eaters - they'll eat almost any type of fish. It is estimated that a group of lionfish can decimate 75% of the fish on a small patch reef in a 5 week period!
Their predation on other fish has been likened to unsustainable fishing. In fact, they eat so many fish that
they may be changing the coral reef seascape. By removing fish that usually feed on algae, lionfish are giving algae the chance to overgrow and smother corals on the reefs.
To make matters worse, lionfish are equipped with venomous spines that deter most predators. The few large fish - like groupers and sharks - that may be able to eat lionfish are in dangerously low numbers on the reefs, thanks to overfishing by humans.
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Eat 'em to beat 'em!
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Scientists are hard at work trying to learn more about lionfish and what can be done to curb their destructive spread. But for now, some are advocating a novel way to control lionfish. Their motto is "eat 'em to beat 'em!"
That's right, they are encouraging lionfish hunting for food! With spines removed, lionfish are delicious and buttery tasting.
You can learn more about this serious threat. Click here to watch Dan Rather's recent coverage of this story or visit http://www.reef.org/lionfish to learn how you can help. You may even decide to get your own lionfish cookbook!
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