HOW TO RECYCLE LIONFISH ~ AN OUTCAST IN THE SEA

July 2011. The Bahamas.
These graceful and beautiful, but deadly and poisonous fish, called Lionfish ("Pterois" ) are ferocious and the most dangerous predator in the ocean that delivers a painful sting with its venomous spines. Lionfish are popular saltwater aquarium fish all over the world, but especially in the United States due to their exotic and charming looks.
They are native from the Indo- Pacific region, but hey also live in western Atlantic waters off the East Coast of the United States. These lionfish are what scientists call an invasive species or an "alien invader."
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed an aquarium tank in Florida. About a half-dozen spiny, venomous lionfish washed into the Atlantic Ocean, spawning an invasion that could kill off local industry along with the native fish.
People come to the Exuma Islands in the Bahamas to kayak between tiny, uninhabited islands and dive in the shallow, turquoise water. Above the water, the landscape looks like a pristine tropical paradise. But the same isn't true beneath the waves.
"In 2005, the first lionfish showed up, and we didn't pay much attention to it," says Oregon State University zoology professor Mark Hixon, who has studied reef fish here for almost two decades. "The next year, we saw a few more. Then in 2007 there was a population explosion. There were so many lionfish around that they were eating the fish we were studying, and we had to start studying the lionfish. There was nothing else to do."
Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific oceans. But in the past few years, they've spread up the Eastern seaboard and throughout the Caribbean. The Bahamas have been hit the hardest. If you dive in Florida, you surely have ran with one of them at least once. Yes, these fish seem to be here to stay and they have almost no natural predators.
They're hard to miss with their red and white stripes and a tall row of venomous spines down their backs. The fan-like fins look like a lion's mane. And like lions, they are ferocious predators. Last year, Hixon co-authored a study with Mark Albins that showed a lionfish can kill three-quarters of a reef's fish population in just five weeks.
"This year we're going to see if that's gotten worse — because the number of lionfish has definitely increased in the intervening year," Hixon says.
Tourism, Fishing Fall Prey
Until marine predators or parasites learn to feed on lionfish, the best hope for slowing the spread may be humans. The fish are a delicacy in Asia, but not in the Bahamas, given the painful sting their spines can inflict. A few restaurants serve lionfish now, and there's an effort to teach Bahamians how to catch and cook them.
Now here is the challenge: Help us Save Our Oceans and start a new, white & red stripe balanced diet. Eat Lionfish. They are delicious. At Juliet Sailing and Diving, we show you exactly how. Even more, we encourage you to become a Lionfish Slayer and Protect What You Love: the equilibrium of our marine ecosystems. After all, the worse predator in history is the homo sapiens. Be a smart one. Play as a smart diver. Recycle Lionfish.
(More information about Lionfish Invasion at NOAA, National Geographic and FOOLS)
Soundtracks
No copyright infringement intended. We value and appreciate the creators and authors of the tracks that have helped us illustrate the severe threat our waters are facing. You can find the complete soundtracks of these songs in itunes. All credits go to the owners of the music, listed here as it follows. Sublime, "Bad FIsh", Massive Attack, "Better things", Thievery Corporation, "Abduction", Basteroid "29 forever", Paula C. Caro Bravo, "Fishy, fishy fish"
Dubtribe Sound System "Autosoul".

Category:

Education

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• Lionfish
• Invasion:
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• Predator
• Threatens
• Caribbean
• Coral
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• Conservation
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• Sylvia
• Earle
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[paulacaro2]

lol.

[paulacaro2]

Thank you for pointing that out, Sue. It's been corrected in the titles, but we won't go further than that. Honest mistake, that does not really affect the main purpose of the report.

Keep eating this little white and red outcast, let me know if you have new recipes so we can share with the lionfish slayers all over the world.

have a great weekend, sweets

[nokia6630videos]

under the spin, to di anooosss XD XD XD

[designbysue]

You might what to correct the spelling - it is lionfish. Thanks for helping remove some of these. When we were diving with Stuart Coves in the Bahamas the lionfish had taken over - and gotten huge!