Lionfish still a problem in Florida, being found off the Suncoast

Just yesterday I was emailing my Ecology of Sarasota teacher Emily Hall, who works at the Mote Marine Aquarium, asking her if the Mote has be getting more Lionfish. She told me no but people are bringing in dead ones for study. The reason I bring up the topic of Lionfish is because just tonight at 11:00 pm on the Suncoast news, the Lionfish are still swimming around the suncoast.

These fish may look beautiful, but don't let their beauty and graceful movement fool you, these are very troublesome fish, and they have grown big in numbers. The major problem with these fish is that they are upsetting the natural balance of the coral reefs and eating lots of other fish. Sometimes these fish can even eat fish that might be a bit larger in size. Much like the Python in the everglades, these animals have a big appetite for other animals. These fish can go on and eat happily because they have no natural predators, and if a fish try's to come at it. The Lionfish has within their fins (around their body) are needles that if touched it will poison it's victim. If a scuba divers comes in contact with the fish and gets attacked, to a human it will not kill you. But reports of past people that have gotten stung by these fish say that the experience is like a bee sting on steroids. There are treatments for this, as to back in the 90's when these fish were first being spotted off the Florida east coast, no one really know how to go about treating people who got stung.

The more they eat, the more they grow and populate. Pretty soon these fish could extend as far as south of Brazil. This would then have an affect on not only the United States, but the entire hemisphere. These fish will end up killing the reefs and harming the balance of the ocean and the fish. The major task that is still going on today to any fisherman and diver, is to hunt, catch or kill as many Lionfish as possible. The sooner we can get rid of these fish from the Suncoast the better. And to help save the rest of the hemisphere. It does sound like we are trying to make these Lionfish go instinct for good. and there may be some people that don't believe in hunting and killing these fish, and want to protect them. But I think in this situation we can make due with getting rid of Lionfish off the map. What good do they do for the ocean in return. Nothing, they just swim around and eat their fill and they are ruining the ocean reefs.






http://www.mysuncoast.com/content/topstories/story/Invasive-lionfish-being-found-off-the-Suncoast/bhBsTtJhwk6bsufH9dotXw.cspx