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The Good and Bad of Feeding Lionfish to Other Marine Life

The invasion of lionfish into areas of the world where they are not natively found has become a huge problem in the marine world. Lionfish were typically only found in warm regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and thirty years ago, there were no sightings of lionfish in Atlantic waters off of the coast of the USA.

However, over the last ten years or so, they have become more and more common in areas like North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Bermuda and Belize, and have even been identified as far north as New York.

Why Is The Lionfish Invasion A Bad Thing?

The lionfish invasion is problematic for several reasons. For example:

• Lionfish are voracious eaters. They herd�juvenile�reef fish and feast on them, their stomachs able to stretch to three times their original size as they gorge, and the stomach contents of dead lionfish have shown that not only do they eat lots of juvenile fish, but they also favour a lot of different species. Reef fish are key factors in keeping a reef clean. If there are no more fish to eat the�algae�on the reefs the reefs will die and this will have�catastrophic consequences.
• Lionfish�have no natural predators in these areas.
• They breed prolifically all year round.

Should we feed lionfish to other marine life?

Photo Credit: MyFWCmedia

Is Encouraging Other Marine Life To Eat Them The Answer?

Some people believe that feeding lionfish to other marine life will train them to see these unwanted invaders as food. However it is never a good idea to feed marine life and there are several reasons why encouraging other marine life to eat lion fish is not a good solution:

• Changing the diet of other species in a marine environment artificially can upset the balance of these species and their usual prey, potentially causing just as much damage to the delicate ecosystem as introducing the lionfish.
• In lab studies, it has been shown that most creatures would literally rather starve to death than attack a lionfish. Lionfish look fearsome, and so feeding dead ones to other marine creatures may still not encourage them to attack live ones.
• It is hard for another creature to attack a lionfish without getting stung by its spines. The venom can be fatal to a lot of creatures.

Lionfish is tasty!

Photo Credit: Vagabond Shutterbug

While feeding the lionfish to other marine life is a potential solution that creates as many problems as it solves, some people believe that feeding them to humans may be the answer! The flesh of the lionfish is not poisonous, and the spines can be easily and safely removed in food preparation with some minimal training.

It is described as a delicate and delicious fish, well suited to food. If humans begin hunting the lionfish in these areas actively to eat them, this could help eradicate them.

Source

I bought a grill and we eat them right on the dive shops dock.
A special speargun has been developed especially for Lionfish and we carry them as we dive the reef.
They are delicious and safe to eat. The person cleaning the fish has to use some caution not to touch the fins as they cut them off There is hardly another tastier fish.

[img:left]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...20000.1371425101.&type=3&theater[/img]

Pirate - That's great - where do you get all that fish?

We pay fishermen to go out and spear them just for us. In about 5hours they catch up to 30 pounds of fillet most of the time.

Just came back from Hawaii, my home of 30 yrs before moving here to Belize. Its a whole different attitude on Lionfish in the Pacific. It is home to the Lionfish, they have predators, they are not a threat, and when I mentioned they are a tasty fish to eat everyone cringed. Yet Hawaiians eat many more variety's of seaweed and urchins and snails than we do, and the same varieties of such that are found in Belize.we wont eat. Whole different story here, like the Carp invading the rivers of the southern U.S. Some rivers now are completely unusable for fishing and water sports. Big rivers too. Its a world wide problem when species are introduced to the wrong habitat.

Lionfish: The Predator Becomes The Prey

A few months ago, we showed you the detrimental effects which the spiny lionfish has on the coastline and the barrier reef.

This is a very aggressive undersea creature which feeds on the juvenile grazer species that usually help to keep the barrier reef healthy.

Well, the Placencia Producers Cooperative Society, the Southern Environmental Association and OCEANA Belize have organized an effort to try to immediately decrease the lionfish population as best as possible.

It involves encouraging fishermen to fish as much of the lionfish species as possible, and creating a market outlet, which will see immediate profit and a decrease in the fish.

To launch this initiative, these organizations held a lionfish competition on Friday and Saturday, and with the help of freelance Journalist Aaron Humes, we provide you with a look into the competition.

Jennifer Chapman - Representative Blue Ventures
"One of Blue Ventures primary objectives is to develop a market for Lion Fish both for local and export. Lion Fish have such a negative effect on our reef and they also provide us with an alternative sustainable environmentally safe with fishery. Lion Fish have extremely high prices in American restaurant and there are natives that are willing to pay for Lion Fish and throughout Belize it's really quite high. So we believe that fishermen are going to be able to receive more for what they work for than the average snapper or grouper fillet and furthermore it doesn't have a seasonal closure and it doesn't have a size limit. They can bring it in throughout the year and they don't have to worry about the restrictions because it doesn't have the restrictions in place with other fisheries because this is one that we want to over fish so you know it has a different perspective on it. Yes I believe that it can be extremely profitable and it's an industry that is just going to grow in Belize and is just going to get bigger."

Diver
"It feels pretty good - actually we're at 50-60ft getting the Lion Fish so that our reef can be safe for the future."

Reporter
"What advice would you give to other fishermen in terms of participating in this type of initiative to sort of rid the coastline of this veracious specie?"

Diver
"I would say that they should try their best to rid them - they are very nice and good to eat and delicious and they are not hard to catch as long as you know what you're doing, just be careful because they are easy to catch and they are affecting our reef so we need eradicate them to protect our local species."

OCEANA reports that the First prize of $1,500 for the most lionfish went to Turtle Inn. Splash Dive Shop landed the biggest lionfish weighing 1.64 pounds to win the $800 dollars, and the third prize for the smallest fish. There is no issue with over fishing or underweight fishing because this is a preventative measure to intervene on the issues cause by the Lionfish's dominance.

Channel 7

This is super interesting:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/...asive-lionfish.html?story_link=email_msg

ReefCI catch the largest Lionfish in Belize!!!

Wow!!! How exciting!! ReefCI are delighted to report that Polly Alford, ReefCI Founder, speared the BIGGEST Lionfish EVER recorded in Belize! This photo shows the beast being measured!! It was a whopping 44cm long and weighed 2.75lbs!!!!!

"I looked down the wall and saw a huge Lionfish staring at me at around 100 feet! I thought to myself, I have to spear that giant! I speared it just behind its head and it shrugged itself off the spear!!! I speared it again and this time held it down so it couldn't jump off! When I tried to put it into the bag, it wouldn't fit!!! It was so big, the only way to get it in the bag, was to put the bag next to its head on the seafloor and maneuver it in. It was like playing twister with a speared Lionfish and bag underwater!!!! I knew that I had landed a very big Lionfish and that it was my personal record, however I had no idea until I checked with The World Lionfish Hunters Association and other organizations that I had speared the biggest recorded Lionfish in Belize." Polly, ReefCI Founder

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What is all this fuss about Lionfish? Most people know by now that Lionfish (Pterois Volitans) are an invasive species in the Caribbean! They are a beautiful fish and do not cause a problem in their native environment where they have natural predators. They are native to the Indo-pacific oceans and the Red sea.

Introducing the Lionfish to the Atlantic and Caribbean has turned out to be one of the cruelest and potentially catastrophic tricks ever played on an ecosystem!

Invasive lionfish are out-breeding, out-competing and out-living native fish stocks and other marine species. The consequences impact the food security and economies affecting over a hundred million people.

Experts speculate that the Lionfish got into the SE coast of the USA, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean from people dumping their unwanted Lionfish from home aquariums into the Atlantic Ocean for up to 25 years.

Their average lifespan is 15 years. Female Lionfish reach sexual maturity and will release eggs when they reach 7 to 8 inches in length, or approximately one year old.

A female Lionfish can release between 10,000 and 30,000 unfertilized eggs every 4 days year around, approximately 2 million eggs per year! The egg sac contains a chemical deterrent that discourages other fish from eating the eggs.

A single Lionfish may reduce the number of juvenile native fish by approximately 79% in just 5 weeks!

Data collected is showing that Lionfish will eat anything that they can fit into their mouths. Their stomach can expand up to 30 times the normal volume and a Lionfish will fill it up to capacity as soon as it is able!Scientists have catalogued over 70 different species that lionfish will eat through stomach content analysis. In addition to the fish they eat, they also eat invertebrates and molluscs - shrimp, crabs, juvenile octopus, squid, juvenile lobster, etc.

Coral and algae fight for photosynthesis to survive. The grazer fish, such as Parrotfish, will feed on the algae. This helps keep coral reefs alive. Now we have Lionfish feeding on juvenile Parrotfish, fish stocks are reduced AND the health of the coral reefs are in jeopardy!

Studies have shown that a Lionfish can go without food for 3 months or longer and only lose 10% of their body mass.

Lionfish have 18 venomous spines that can easily penetrate human skin and give a very painful sting. Tough Fishermen have been seen crying from the pain! Recommended first aid for a Lionfish sting is to remove any broken spines, disinfect the wound and apply non-scalding hot water for 30-90 minutes. Monitor for signs of allergic reaction. Give the patient anti-histamine and a strong painkiller! There are no known cases of human fatality from a Lionfish sting.

Lionfish is venomous not poisonous! The meat is extremely tasty and restaurants are now featuring delicious Lionfish recipes on their menus.

Here in Southern Belize, Reef Conservation International Ltd (ReefCI) found the first Lionfish in November 2009.

Fast-forward to 2014, ReefCI are removing Lionfish using a spear and a Safespear© bag. This method is extremely effective. One diver, one bag, one spear and as many as 50-100 Lionfish are now being removed in the Sapodilla cayes!

Look out for Lionfish earrings. In Southern Belize, ReefCI staff are carefully removing the fins and spines and drying them out in the sun. Local woman are empowered and employed to make beautiful earrings out of them.

Are we making a difference? There are some dive sites where it seems that it is working and the numbers are down. However, in general, because we are located on a barrier reef, it seems like a losing battle! It's a bit like picking up garbage from the shore, one can pick it up everyday and it is always the same amount! But, it has to be done.

Here is the bottom line!

If left unchecked lionfish will ultimately cause the destruction of the reefs, native fish stocks and the livelihoods of everyone that depend upon them. How can you help?

Order Lionfish from restaurants buy Lionfish products such as the earrings and if you are a Scuba diver, make your next trip a Lionfish culling trip.

Polly Alford
Founder & Director and Lionfish Hunter!
ReefCI