An article published by the Savannah Morning News reports that divers from the Georgia Aquarium are undertaking a study of the rapid expansion of lionfish in U.S. coastal waters.  The recent collection dive, on a naval tower 20 miles of the shore of South Carolina, was more fruitful than anticipated.  According to Jeff Reid, diving safety officer for the Georgia Aquarium and group leader for this collection dive, they found the first lionfish as soon as they hit the bottom.  Using nets and plastic cages, they quickly brought a number of fish to the surface.  In fact, in just three 20-minute dives, the species collection teams found a total of nine lionfish, nearly half of the total needed for the display at the aquarium.

According to Gail Kreuger of the Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, the lionfish are spreading like wildfire and really represent a plague on this popular Atlantic reef.  Says Kreuger, “They’re a big problem.  They’re voracious and they eat everything. And what they like to eat best is baby grouper and snapper“.  This is a serious problem on Gray’s Reef, because this is a protected area for grouper and snapper.   According to officials, the lionfish are so foreign to native fish that they don’t even attempt to evade the predator.  According to Mark Hixon of Oregon State University, “Fish in the Atlantic have never seen them before. They don’t even see them as fish, that’s the scary part.”  Says Hixon, “Small fish don’t even do anything. They take no evasive action. They’ll be sitting there in a school and a lionfish comes up and it’s like, ‘Oh, Bob’s gone. Oh, Ed’s gone.”   In the slightly less than two years since they were first reported on this Atlantic Gray’s Reef,  these traits have allowed them to spread to the point where they are a common sight  for divers on the reef.  Most interesting, they are expected to begin adapting to the colder winter temperatures of the Atlantic, according to George Sedberry, superintendent of the Gray’s Reef Sanctuary.  This will make it even more likely that this species will thrive and spread on Atlantic reefs.

I have written several previous posts about the invasion of the lionfish in the waters off of the United States.  You can read these articles by following the links below.  I am sure we will have more to say about this evolving lionfish story in future posts.

The Lionfish Invasion

Feeding Habits of Lionfish

Official Lionfish Sighting in Florida Key Reported

Phil Ellis

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