Venomous Lionfish The Invasive Species You Didn't Know About

Lionfish Invasion Everything you need to know in 3 Min - Under Sea G - This invasive species is devastating the Caribbean. Parents carry the conversation on - The Lionfish was thought to be a warm water species but last year lionfish were observed off of the New England coast. Location Location Location, If a lionfish lives in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean or South Pacific. Then it lives on its home turf. In that area, lionfish have many natural predators. These include sharks, cornetfish, grouper, giant eels, frogfish, and scorpionfish. If the lionfish live anywhere else in the world, it is an invasive species and has no predators. I hear you, Your saying "G all of those species that hunt the lionfish live all over the world." And you are correct, but those animals that live in the other parts of the world have not figured out how to eat the lionfish. So why are lionfish so hard to swallow? Well, they have a secret weapon. They are venomous. They are not poisonous; there is a big difference between venomous and poisonous. Professor Sue G's underwater biologist friend loves to point out. Venom is injected, poison is ingested. With this new-found knowledge I have shared with you the following statement is true. There is no poisonous snakes period. They are all venomous, and so is the lionfish. That is what makes the lionfish so hard for its preditors to eat it. The lionfish has 13 venomous spines on the dorsal fin, 2 Venomous spines on the pelvic fins and 3 Venomous spines on the anal fin. When the lionfish is attached, it sticks those needle-sharp fins in the mouth of whatever is trying to eat it. That is usually the end of that encounter. Female lionfish produce 30,000 eggs a year, that's a whole lot of little lionfish. Even though the animal is not very big, a large specimen is 15 inches long. They eat all of the fry on a reef. A study by NOAA has shown that one lionfish on a reef reduced the baby fish population by 70 percent. This is devastating to all life on the reef. The first confirmed lionfish sighting in Florida was 1985. There are several theories as to how they got there. DNA testing has proven that they are all descendants of 7 fish. Since the lionfish is a very popular aquarium fish. It is thought that people threw the fish out of their aquariums into the ocean around the south Florida area. The lionfish recently appeared in the Mediterranean. My first encounter with a lionfish in the Atlantic was 2001 in the Bahamas. As you can see even then, it was trying to eat everything in sight.
It is unfortunate that a fish this beautiful is so devastating to its environment. Not only does it remove the next generation of fish from the reef. It has changed the way that most of the large fish hunt. One day the preditors for this fish will learn how to consume it just like their cousins have in the Indian ocean. Until then, we will all have to do our best to help mother nature to balance everything back into a normal rhythm. Remember, never swim snorkel or dive alone. Never bother the wildlife and only leave footprints in the sand when you leave. I hope you learned something today and every day. Click that like button and subscribe to the channel, so you will know when we post our next episode. Will see you next time on Under Sea G.