August 25, 2014 — When you think of major scourges to our world fisheries, you probably think of overfishing, or bottom trawling, or pollution or climate change. But some new research from Kurt Ingeman of Oregon State University finds yet another reason to elevate the invasive, poisonous, violently predatory lionfish to the top of that list: unlike other fish, it will hunt prey literally to extinction — and that spells major problems for the fish we like to eat, like snapper and sea bass.
So, basics on the lionfish: Native to the Indo-Pacific Oceans, the lionfish is a small but fearsome predator, decked out with venomous spines all over its body. The spines serve as protection, not as a hunting aid, and are intense enough to cause, at best, severe pain to humans (they are rarely deadly, but lionfish venom has killed some young and/or infirm people over the years). It also happens to be very pretty; it’s covered in red, brown, cream, and black stripes, which make it look very ornate and lovely — even though the biological purpose of the stripes is to alert predators about that brutal venom it’s packing.
Because it is pretty, and hardy, it’s frequently kept in saltwater aquariums (aquaria? That never looks right), but in part because it will eat anything it sees, it’s often released into the ocean where it doesn’t belong. The lionfish has thrived in the warmer Atlantic and Caribbean, and is one of the worst invasive species those areas have ever seen. It eats pretty much everything, is an adaptable and adept hunter, and worse, native prey fish don’t recognize it as a predator, because it’s only been around for a few decades in that part of the world. Nobody’s quite sure what to do about that; when prepared properly, it’s edible, and many, including Mark Bittman of the New York Times, have attempted to get people to eat them. And that seems even more important now, given this new information that the lionfish will devour prey long after most other fish have moved on.
Read the full story at Modern Farmer