Invasive Lionfish Poses Danger to Virgin Islands Coral Reef
August 10th, 2010 - 8:50 pm ICT by Angela Kaye Mason
Aug 10 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The lionfish, which is a striped fish with poisonous spines is said to be invading the waters of the Virgin Islands National Park, according to an announcement made by NOAA divers on Friday after those divers identified and killed a six inch lionfish in Fish Bay, making it the fourth siting of a lionfish in the area.
The lionfish, which is native to the area of the Indo Pacific has proven itself to be adaptable to swimming and living in waters all over the world. It is believed that the fish was released by aquarium hobbyists into the waters of the Caribbean, where it was first discovered, in the 1990s. Once these fish were let go, they began to feed on native fish and multiplied quickly.
Now it is a fear of marine biologists that these fish will pose a serious threat and permanently disrupt the Caribbean ecosystem. Rafe Boulon, Chief of Resource Management for the Virgin Islands National Park and the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, stated “Lionfish pose a huge threat to the coral reef ecosystems of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The native fish populations are essentially defenseless in the face of this threat. And once established, lionfish are very difficult to control.”
The NOAA, (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has launched a “Eat Lionfish” campaign in an effort to control the invasion. Chefs, fishermen, and wholesalers are encouraged to promote marketing these fish.
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Tags: 1990s, aquarium hobbyists, chefs, coral reef ecosystems, ecosystem, fish bay, fishermen, indo pacific, invasion, islands national park, lionfish, marine biologists, national monument, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, native fish populations, poisonous spines, resource management, striped fish, virgin islands national park, wholesalers