Lionfish Threaten The Ecosystem of the Caribbean Sea March 16, 2016 by lukesheppard

Fishermen in the Bahamas are being threatened by the arrival of this alien species – the Lionfish. Marvin, a fisherman from Long Island said he first saw the arrival of the Lionfish in 2004. In 2005 he would see two or three Lion fish each dive, the next year, five or six each dive. He says he has never seen a species multiply as quickly as this. 

The Lionfish is a very poisonous fish which has no predators. There are lots of different types of Lionfish that vary in size. In native sea’s the most common Lionfish is usually 30cm to 35cm, while the smaller Lionfish are about the size of a tennis ball. The one’s found in the Caribbean are often up to 55cm in size. This species is one of the most venomous fish in the ocean. Their venomous dorsal spines are solely uses for defence. If they are threatened, the Lionfish will usually face it’s attacker upside down which brings it’s spines to bear.

Lionfish do not usually attack humans and you will find they the do their best to avoid you, but if you are stung by one it is not usually fatal, but is very painful. Lionfish have a very veracious appetite and eat everything. They primarily hunt between late afternoon to dawn. They corner their prey using their large fins and then use their quick reflexes to swallow the prey whole. Fishermen are now spending most of their time trying to catch this poisonous species because they are quickly transforming the ecosystem of the Caribbean Sea.

Nobody knows exactly how the Asian Lionfish ended up in the Bahamas, but it is believed that they were washed out of an aquarium in Southern Florida when Hurricane Andrew hit the area.