Four years ago, lobster fisherman Gary Nichols had never laid eyes on a lionfish, but today his traps are full of them. “You’ll get two or three decent traps with lobster, but if you get four or five lionfish, the lobster don’t like it,” Nichols said. He says he catches so many lionfish now (up [...]
A 12-foot hammerhead shark, an undersea canyon that suddenly plunges 900 feet and an enormous orange-and-brown barrel sponge are only a few things in an unexplored Puerto Rican reef that U.S. scientists are using sonar and submersibles to explore. “You could actually live in that thing it was so big,” said Tim Battista, the expedition’s [...]
In less than a decade, lionfish have become widely established across the Southeast U.S. and Caribbean. Recent estimates indicate that lionfish have surpassed some native species with the highest estimates reporting hundreds per acre in some locations. In today’s Diving Deeper, we explore invasive lionfish with James Morris from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean [...]
The fish that once seemed untouchable with its defensive spines, has now proven conquerable, quickly whipped up into a delicious dish, the lionfish could easily become the seafood of choice for many a discerning palate. via Lionfish Fast Becoming the Caribbean’s New Delicacy - Jamaica Information Service.
The Scotia Group has partnered with the Centre for Marine Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Rainforest Seafoods, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to turn the tables on the lionfish which has been wreaking havoc on Jamaica’s fish stock. Scotia Goes Green On [...]
Despite the long history of invasion by aquatic nuisance species to the Great Lakes, deciding which invasive species poses the biggest threat has proved to be a big challenge for natural resource managers and policy makers. Tools to assess the risks of invasion to the Great Lakes have either been inadequate or non-existent, even for [...]
Echoing the alarm sounded in the early 2000s about increasing numbers of lionfish off the East Coast, NOAA scientists are warning that another species – the Asian tiger shrimp – may be invading our shores. Like any invasive species that finds itself in favorable conditions, tiger shrimp can compete with native species for food and [...]
The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) are assuring divers and diners that locally caught lionfish are safe to eat, despite recent reports of the toxin that causes ciguatera found in lionfish caught off the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Reports of ciguatoxin off St. Maarten have made international [...]