Lionfish

Description:

Photo take at -40 ft near a coral reef at 12:00pm. Beautiful small juvenile, but this is an Invasive species in the Caribbean Sea. Pterois is a genus of venomous marine fish found mostly in the Indo-Pacific, known collectively as the lionfish. Pterois is characterized by red, white and black stripes, showy pectoral fins and venomous spiky fin rays.

Habitat:

Native from Indian Ocean: Red Sea, South Africa, Indonesia, Also known in eastern Mediterranean. Today is found also from Florida all the Caribbean sea to Colombia.

Notes:

The population density of the invasive lionfish is increasing very fast, and efforts are underway in several areas to bring it under control. However, to completely eradicate the lionfish from its new habitats seems unlikely. A study from 2010 using population modeling used data collected about the known life history of the lionfish inhabiting the Caribbean coral reefs to figure out the best means of eradication. The study showed that the most effective way to even maintain current lionfish population densities, at least 27% of the invasive adult populations would have to be killed monthly. The fact that lionfish are able to reproduce monthly throughout the entire year means that this is an effort that must be maintained monthly for the maintenance of current population densities. Wikipedia.