Who let the lions out?


Lionfish became popular, but a disliked species as they are one of the fastest spreading invasive species of all time. They were not always present in our oceans. 
About the lionfish:

  • 1Their average lifespan in the wild are only up to 15 years, indicating that these animals are new to the world’s waters. 
  • They are about 11.8 to 15 inches in size.
  • They are approximately weigh 2.6 pounds.
Photo taken by Joel Sartore
2Two closely related species of predatory lionfish (Pterois Volitans and Pterois Miles) were recently introduced from their native range in the Indo-Pacific to the Western Atlantic. 3Lionfish may have been introduced into the Atlantic at Biscayne Bay, Florida, when several individuals were released from an aquarium during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. 
No one knows whether the introduction of lion fish was a single event or multiple, however, it is known that it was a release off the coast of Florida, intentionally or unintentionally.
4Between 1992 and 2006, lionfish spread rapidly northward along the eastern sea of the USA and southward into the Caribbean. They have now been sighted as far east as Bermuda, as far north as Rhode Island, and as far south as Jamaica. But, they have been spreading and have reached to almost all of the Caribbean islands. During an experiment done by Mark A. Hixon and others in Bahamas in the summer of 2007, 100 individual lionfish were spotted in LSI, 3 in the Exuma Cays Land and 2 at Cat Island. This study indicated that lionfish have spread all the way to the Bahamas, in abundance too.
The introduction of the lionfish to these waters is a threat to the coral reef ecosystems in the regions affected as they are insatiable predators who can’t get enough. However, if managed properly, these fish could be beneficial to us humans as they can provide revenue for different avenues such as fishermen, restaurants and craftsmakers.
Photo by Montague


References:
1.   National Geographic - Lionfish
2.  Hamner RM, Freshwater DW, Whitfield PE (2007) Mitochondrial cytochrome b analysis reveals two invasive lionfish species with strong founder effects in the western Atlantic. J Fish Biol 71:214–222 
3.   Courtenay (1995), Hamner and Al. (2007) -Courtenay WR (1995) Marine fish introductions in southeastern Florida. Am Fish Soc Introduced Fish Newsl 14:2–3 
4.   Whitfield PE, Gardner T, Vives SP, Gilligan MR, Courtenay WR, Ray GC, Hare JA (2002) Biological invasion of the Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans along the Atlantic coast of North America. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 235:289–297 


Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 3, 2018 at 1:43 AM

    Interesting. Would there be any info in upcoming blogs showing the impact to Trinidad by chance?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 4, 2018 at 3:39 PM

      Yes in future posts.

      Delete
    2. UnknownOctober 4, 2018 at 4:02 PM

      Nice. Looking forward to it. And could arrange a tasting if you want. Local lionfish sausage. Tastes great. Lol

      Delete

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