An article in the VI Daily News reports that the Lion Fish could cause the coral reefs in the Virgin Islands to be at risk. While this is normally a Pacific coast fish, they have recently been spotted in the warmer Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. "... many of the reef fish that the lionfish preys upon are herbivorous animals that eat algae off of coral reefs. These fish complete a vital link in the coral life cycle, cleaning the corals so they are healthy and helping create an atmosphere to allow baby corals to thrive. " (Vi Daily News)
This sounds like a very scary fish and if seen, should be reported to the Fish and Wildlife agencies. We need to do our part to save the coral reefs. Although their venom is toxic, it cannot kill humans, but can be very painful, so be careful if you see one of these fish.
Here's the Wikipedia description, yikes!
4 comments:
Actually, they believe the Lion Fish was introduced to the Atlantic waters after some escaped from aquariums after Hurricane Katrina. Divers have been trying to capture these Lion Fish for a few years now, and they have done genetic testing and determined they are all from the same batch of fish. Meaning, that Lion Fish LOVE the Atlantic waters and those few original Lion Fish have been flourishing.
we were just diving in Cuba and saw a few of these Lion Fish...gorgeous creatures....very exciting to see them! Did not know they were not native to those waters.
My buddy and I went scuba diving in Cozumel last year, had a tough time finding just one. Went to Cozumel again this year....they were plentiful! We helped out with a lionfish hunt...turns out the little buggers are pretty tasty. I would suggest letting more divers collect and eat them.
Just finished snorkling at cancun, near club med and ran into one... never saw one before.
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