Lionfish ????

[SubMariner]

Don, I would think more like maybe some waste water from the aquarium at THE ATLANTIS in Nassau with all the fish coming and going from an aquarium of this size the transporting water must be very great possible fertile egg being released seems more in line. just a my thought.

Sorry, but this doesn't make much sense. Salt water is not "transported" to or from anywhere in the Bahamas on a boat.

Given how far away the Exumas are from New Providence in the Bahamas chain, it's more likely it was an exotic release.

JMHO,

 

[flounderer]

And I wonder if you see them only at depth off of NC is because that's where the wrecks are. No shallow reefs for them to live on there, as off of Florida.

Some of my co-workers are diving for NOAA's lionfish project and have given me a little insight on what they think is going on off the NC coast.

In the Onslow bay area, south of Morehead and north of Cape Fear we are generally seeing them deeper then 110ft. This water is semi warm year round, generally >65F . The lionfish that venture shallower are being killed by the colder coastal water. Lionfish being tropical don't have the migration instinct of the local species, they don't know to go offshore when the water temp drops. This limits them to the deep.

I think we see them in large number on the wrecks because it is a smaller area which concentrates them. The deep ledges and hard bottom extend for miles and miles which allow them to disperse over a big area.

I've talked to two experienced local divers that have been swearing up and down that they saw a lionfish about ten years ago but everyone laughed. They've been here for a while it just took a while for them to get to numbers where they would be noticed.

On a side note, my co-workers have eaten a few of the larger guys and they say they taste like grouper. They've also been stung so be careful.

Pat

 

[diver3523]

The lionfish you saw and photographed would be a treat to a diver, yes, but it's an Exotic Threat to the eco-system.

They are popular aquarium pets, hardy, fun to feed (live fish, but can be taught to take dry pellets from the owner's hand), and grow quickly. When they get too big for the tank, what do you do with one? Some people "set them free" in local water. With no natural controls, they can become a real problem for the native life.

Some programs exist to capture such exotics, but they'll probably grow to be a major problem, like Kudzu, English sparrows, etc in the US.

Don, I think you're right on point with that. It is actually a fish that's native to the Indo-Pacific region, if I'm not mistaken. There have been many articles written about the release of these fish in Atlantic waters (especially off the coast of Florida) and their ensuing threat to the native reef fish populations.

 

[spstar]

Since they are an invasive species on the US East Coast NOAA has a program to track lionfish sightings. If anyone is interested here is the link:

http://shrimp.ccfhrb.noaa.gov/lionfish/lionfish.html

I have forworded my pictures and location to Paula Whitfield from NOAA and she was thankful for the info and pictures she said it is an Adult

 

[DandyDon]

From the map supplied on the subsequent NOAA link, I have got to speculate that the New York and Bermuda fish had to be local releases. I wonder if Bermuda even allows their import anymore?

 

[archman]

From the map supplied on the subsequent NOAA link, I have got to speculate that the New York and Bermuda fish had to be local releases. I wonder if Bermuda even allows their import anymore?

The fish could have been spun off by Gulf Stream eddies. It passes between New York and Bermuda. The stream's packed with tropical larvae. This is how Bermuda gets its Caribbean biota.

 

[DandyDon]

The fish could have been spun off by Gulf Stream eddies. It passes between New York and Bermuda. The stream's packed with tropical larvae. This is how Bermuda gets its Caribbean biota.

Oh ok, guess so maybe. Thanks.

 

[gr8fuldiverNC]

In Morehead and Wilmington there is a wide variety of shallower wrecks and artificial reefs, and the water is pretty warm during the summer, mid to upper seventies. However I have not heard of any sightings on any of these shallower sites. It is green/brown water, as opposed to the blue of the gulfstream washed deeper wrecks, but theyve been sighted in the green waters of NJ too....

Also for Submariner, salt water is transported as ballast by freighters, and often dumped near shore. thats how we got the zebra mussels in the Great Lakes. I dont know about the Aquarium, but Id be surprised if there was no exchange of water with the sea at all. The calurpa (sp?) (a sea plant common in aquariums) infestation in the Med was started this way, from the aquarium/research facility on Monaco, who denied it for a long time, before admitting to some possible accidental discharge of water into the sea.

 

[RIOceanographer]

From the map supplied on the subsequent NOAA link, I have got to speculate that the New York and Bermuda fish had to be local releases. I wonder if Bermuda even allows their import anymore?

I didn't mention it in my earlier post, but two of my buddies and I saw a juvenile Lionfish (only a few cm in length) here in RI this summer, so at least the juveniles are making it further north than is shown on that map. I did report it to Paula Whitfield (who I think was disappointed I didn't capture it and mail it to her ), and she said so far that was the most northerly sighting she had a record of.

Like Archman said, many eggs and larvae take a ride in the Gulf Stream, and some of them end up here in Rhode Island so towards the end of summer we get tons of juvenile tropical species. New England divers flock to RI to see the tropicals (or capture them for aquariums) in August and Sept. I suppose with the lionfish taking hold in NC, it was only a matter of time before they joined the list of the Gulf Stream hitchhikers that make it up here.

The warm water species are only temporary residents this far north because when the water cools off for the winter they can't survive, and therefore it is unlikely we will ever get a permanent population of lionfish up here, or see anything but the juveniles.