Exotic lionfish have invaded Florida waters. They are a huge problem because: They eat everything in sight and can decimate reef fish populations in a matter of weeks. They have poisonous spines and are dangerous to humans, especially to divers and fishermen. They have no natural predators to keep their populations in check. They can reproduce every four days. They are resistant to parasites that affect native fish. The Good News is they are delicious.
The first Atlantic sighting of the invasive Indo-Pacific species was seen in 1985 off Dania Beach on the East Coast of Florida. The lionfish is now found throughout the Gulf, and off the Atlantic coast as far north as Rhode Island in the summer. On the reef, lionfish compete for food with grouper and snapper and reproduce so rapidly that they are known to reduce better established native populations by 70-80% in a matter of weeks. Waterfront communities are organizing gatherings for research and encouraging consumption of the fish, which is quite delicious. The lionfish have stinging barbs above and below that can be quite painful, so careful handling is needed. Most other species of fish will starve before they will eat one. Special canisters are sold by local dive shops for safe collection by experienced divers.
Renee and I were impressed by what will be at least an annual “lionfish weigh-in” behind the Guy Harvey Outpost in St. Pete Beach the first Sunday in September. “Lionfish will eat anything that fits in their mouths” said one of the volunteers from St. Petersburg College that were assisting in the Reef Monitoring effort to tag, weigh, measure, and to identify the Lionfish’s range of travel and its diet. They had plenty of specimens to work on.
The day before, over 100 divers paid $20 each to enter the Lionfish Safari competition for the most caught, the largest and the smallest. The divers had been hunting around reefs in 80 feet of Gulf water for only an hour or two and had speared over 500 of the lionfish by day’s end. “They are actually easy to filet. Their skin is soft and getting boneless filets is a breeze,” said one of the student volunteers who became quite proficient at cleaning lionfish. The stinging barbs had been removed before the iced-down lionfish were delivered in coolers to waiting volunteers. They tagged, weighed and measured the fish. The otolith (ear bone) was removed from the head of each fish and placed in small labeled and capped test tubes with preservative. “These can tell us how old the fish was and perhaps more about the history of the fish,” we were told by one of the obviously experienced St. Petersburg College volunteers. Stomachs and their contents were removed and placed into larger labeled and capped test tubes, which will be analyzed to study what these fish are eating.
Dive operators, collectors and their families watched the research efforts and spoke with representatives of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission who were there to help educate the public about the need for lionfish capture and consumption.
“The Rumfish Grille at the Guy Harvey Outpost regularly includes lionfish in its Ceviche’ when it is available,” said Executive Chef Justin Harry, who was on hand, beachside, ready to prepare the lionfish filets for consumption. “Lionfish filets are a lot like snapper or grouper,” I was told. Chef Harry was hoping that his two frying pans could keep up with the demand for his lionfish creations.
Reef Monitoring is a 501(c)3 non-profit research organization established in 2005. Headquarted in Clearwater, Reef Monitoring’s main purpose is to organize a group of marine scientists and educators as a means of watching over our invaluable natural and artificial reef systems.
If our reefs disappeared tomorrow, do YOU know what the impact would be?
Reef Monitoring was formed in response to a massive Red Tide and Low Oxygen kill we had in the near-shore waters of Tampa Bay. At the time, Sean Patterson was an under-graduate student at the University of South Florida.
Working under the supervision of Dr. Heyward Mathews of St. Petersburg College, the original project was to track the recovery of one natural reef and one artificial reef in state waters. Fish counts and invertebrate counts were taken by the diver transect method as well as random quarter-meter coverage assessments of the reef substrate. Algae samples were taken and analyzed as well.
Dr. Matthews has an impressive history of working to monitor and improve marine biology in his little corner of the world. He was a driving force behind the formation of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a research institute about to become even more renowned due to the recently released “Dolphin Tale 2”sequel to “Dolphin Tale.” He also was a driving force behind Tampa Bay Watch, a not for profit that has a fine record of educational and hands-on programs to benefit Tampa Bay.
Reef Monitoring is striving to establish a base line set of data, an ongoing snapshot of the valuable marine resources residing on our natural and artificial reefs. This data can be used for a variety of purposes including providing an economical value of our resources, assessing the health of fish stocks, and even providing an early warning of contamination or pollution in our waters.
– Ongoing Survey - They are training every-day divers to go out and help collect this crucial data. Diving enthusiasts are encouraged to contact them to see how you can help!
– Reef Clean-Ups – Reef Monitoring typically picks one Reef to clean up each spring to get the garbage off of our reefs and protect our marine life.
– Reef Recruitment- Using light traps, Reef Monitoring studies the new organisms that are settling on our natural and artificial reefs. They hope to end the debate as to whether artificial reefs create new biota or concentrate existing ones.
– Sea Floor Analysis – Reef Monitoring is currently studying the changes in the physical characteristics of the bottom surrounding artificial reefs.
The Lionfish invasion is one of their primary focuses these days, working closely with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservationthat has declared the Lionfish to be Public Enemy #1.
That Lionfish can reproduce as often as every four days, and has no serious predators, helps account for the rapid expansion of their habitat. From the Turks and Caicos Islands, fishing guide Mike Fox says the “Lionfish are everywhere. The good news, however is that they are starting to show up in the stomach of their grouper, so there is some hope that nature might help to control their spread.” Lionfish ‘Derbies’ are being held in a growing number of locales. www.REEF.org based out of Key Largo sanctioned official Lionfish ‘Derbies’ www.reef.org
Lionfish Derbies were recently held in other communities as follows:
Treasure Coast Fort Pierce City Marina (1 Avenue A, Ft Pierce, FL)
June 6-7, 2014, Treasurecoastlionfishsafari.com. Contact Bob Hickerson thefrapper001@gmail.com
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Fisherman’s Day Lionfish Derby
June 9, 2014 fishdiv@vincysurf.com
Pensacola Flora Bama Yacht Club (17350 Peridido Key Dr., Pensacola, FL 32507)
April 30 – May 4, www.gulfcoastlionfish.com Andy Ross 850-529-2475 sharkman58@gmail.com
Saline Bay, Mayreau, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
– May 1, 2014 Nancy Saul-Demers (784-458-8006)
Port Salerno, FL
July 12, 2014 www.mclionfish.com MCAC Artificial Reef Fund, Inc. info@mcacreefs.org
Boca Raton
July 25-26, 2014 Sean Meadows worldofscubafl@gmail.com
Jacksonville Beach on August 8th & 9th
Gulf Coast – Guy Harvey Resort
– Sept 6 & 7th – Guy Harvey Outpost – A TradeWinds Resort, St. Pete Beach, FL
Key Largo – John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park – Sept. 13th
Coastal Carolina Derby
– Dockside Bar and Grill, Wilmington, NC Sept 20, 2014 cclionfishderby.wix.com/cclionfishderby
Pensacola – Flora Bama Yacht Club 17350 Perdido Key Dr, Sept. 27 & 28th, Andy Ross 850-529-2475
Upcoming Derbies
Sarasota Derby – October 5, 2014 – SarasotaLionfishDerby.com, zookeeperlcu@gmail.com
eBoat Listings Lionfish Derby – Boynton Beach, October 16-18, 2014 blog.eboatlistings.com/lionfish-tournament/ Jessica Anderson jessica@eBoatListings.com
DEEP 2014 Roatan Lionfish Derby – October 20-22, 2014 www.caredeeply.org
Kelli Shaw kelli@caredeeply.org
First CORE St. Croix Derby – Nov 8-9, 2014 www.corevi.org/ Nadija Packauskas & Wess Tester stxoutreach@corevi.org
Story By Peter A. Roos | Photos by Jim Tizzano & Michael Fox