In February 2008 a juvenile Indo-pacific Red Lionfish was removed from a dive site in Little Cayman and since then many others have been removed from Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. While it may seem exciting to see this fish on a dive it is quite disturbing when you realize that this species is only supposed to be found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
So what’s it doing in the Atlantic Ocean? While no one knows exactly how they arrived in the Atlantic, the two most accepted methods are: accidental or intentional release of aquarium fish into the marine environment; and transport of the species in the ballast water of ships. The only confirmed release was during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 when 6 lionfish were liberated from an aquarium into Biscayne Bay. Lionfish have now been documented along the entire US East Coast from Florida through Massachusetts, east to Bermuda and south throughout the Bahamas and in other Caribbean nations such as Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Cuba in depths ranging from 2 to 500 feet! |
Allowing lionfish to establish themselves in our waters can lead to serious problems because they are:
It should also be stressed that serious wounds have also resulted from the careless handling of recently dead specimens. The sting of the red lionfish causes intense pain immediately and leads to several hours of extreme pain, depending upon the amount of venom received. Other symptoms of the sting may include swelling, redness, bleeding, nausea, numbness, joint pain, anxiety, headache, disorientation, dizziness, nausea, paralysis, and convulsions. 