Lionfish?

[Fighting Conch]

Has anyone heard of Lionfish here in Big Bend waters? They are spreading in the Florida Keys, known for nasty venomous tentacles and gulping down small fish and mollusks.

http://www.keysnet.com/2011/08/05/36546 ... afood.html

[fishinfrenzi15]

Heard of them, but not around here. They are an invasive species to the Southern East Coast and Caribbean, but have not made it into our area.

[Gumbo]

They have been spotted offshore from P'cola, think that's the closest.

[ugadawg]

That have been sighted and are established in our waters. Here is a map of the sightings.

lionfish.png (88.92 KiB) Viewed 1363 times

[DWilliams]

We found one in Mexico Beach in 130'. The keys are eat up with them. One rock had over 10 on it. Off the coast of NC watch out they are everywhere.

[mraquatics]

They are quite popular in the marine aquarium trade and survive well in local temperatures. I imagine they would flourish around here with time. Having kept numerous lions over the years, I can attest that they are curious and not easily spooked. They love to hang out on rocky bottom. I wonder how many of these are from the aquarium trade. I read a while back that it is thought they came from a Miami aquarium that flooded during a hurricane. I suspect many more came from well intentioned hobbyists who thought releasing their fish that had otugrown their aquariums was better than killing them. Little did they know. I wonder if the Jack Rudloe Marine Lab has run into any on their local collection trips?