CREATURE FEATURE | LIONFISH
Nick Barker
Creature Feature: Lionfish (Pterois volitans) The hunt continues – The quest for control of an invasive species.
Dressed as though decked out for Carnival, these beautiful fish have taken over the Caribbean waters. Native to the Indo-Pacific, lionfish thrive in our rich waters which provide an excellent environment to breed and dine without the risk of natural predators. Their unchecked movement has taken them from the Carolinas down the eastern seaboard, on an island hopping journey to Colombia, and all the way down to the Amazon and back up into the Gulf of Mexico in as little as 10 years. Numbers have continued to soar over the last two decades. In an effort to thwart the destructive actions of these voracious fish and to create a balance on the reef, ongoing efforts are being made throughout the Caribbean to cull them in the hope of restoring the balance.