Early this week, Coleman Roach and his wife, Janice, were swimming off Klein Bay when they noticed something odd – and dangerous. A Lionfish, the ravenous and deadly invasive fish that was first seen in Virgin Island waters only 18 months ago.
"The snorkeling here is fantastic," Janice said. "From our veranda you can even see Spotted eagle rays come in every am between 8-9:30 to feed. Its beautiful."
But this snorkel was different. Roach decided to act. He went back to his Klein Bay home (Villa Anansi) and prepared to do battle.
"My husband set out to either tag or capture the fish," Janice said. "We were lucky enough to spot him again and Coleman brought out his snorkel bag and a polestick and was able to lure him in after many attempts."
Roach is not alone in his concern about the Lionfish. In fact, some swimmers have begun planning for a monthly group snorkel and dive event to thin the waters. The first was in early July.
Great Job! Love Klein Bay.
Good catch, Coleman!
That’s great!
Yeah! Another strike an the elimination of a species! Parrot fish next, they eat coral reefs, I’ve seen large patches of reef, in Indonesia, decimated by parrot fish.
Yeah… Another victory for mankind…killing off another species… I realize the coral reef is a living organism that the very ocean itself is dependent on for survival, but with all of our advanced technology and great thinkers, isn’t there a way to control this problem without wiping them off the face of the earth??
Wow. You guys do realize that “mankind” put these things in the Gulf waters, right? The theory is that they came in after a hurricane through the Gulf Coast years ago, kept as pets and accidentally released. They eat everything. Ecology destruction at its finest.
That’s a really amazing catch! Chances like that don’t come around very often.
No one is trying to “kill off another specieis.” Lionfish flourish in their natural habitat, the Pacific, where there are Pacific grouper who keep them in check. There is a natural check and balances going on there. In the Atlantic and Caribbean, the lionfish has no natural predators and therefore its population is out of control. It’s a ravenous fish and the rest of the fish population of many coral reefs is being decimated due to the lionfish. Unfortunately due to the fact that it spreads rapidly and quickly, probably no amount of “interference” by people will stop their spread.
Without a bounty on their heads there is no chance against these fish if what we are being told is accurate.
an occasional catch like will do absolutely nothing! if you try to do what they are doing in jamaica maybe there’s a chance. they are catching them and eating them. it’s a new delicacy there now. they are really making an effort to use them in a profitable way. they need to fished to the exteme or we will lose. and that’s the only way to do it.
catching one lionfish won’t do anything. more has to be done. do what they are doing in jamaica, for example. they found out the the lionfish is very good to eat. so now people spearfish them for food. what an incentive to kill them!
Nature does have the art of balancing itself out. I believe that no human interference is required. Soon we may be going off the West Coast of Africa to try to stop tropical storms! Let the Caribbean evolution happen naturally, the lion fish cannot be as destructive as we (mankind) have been on our own environment.
Dear Aneil, you must not realize that nature did not intend for the lionfish to be in the Caribbean, but was in fact accidently introduced into the Gulf by mankind. You also forget when you say let nature balance itself out, that we humans are also part of that ‘nature’ you speak of. So, there is nothing wrong with humans trying to fix the problem they introduced to the Caribbean waters. By killing one deadly lionfish, you potentially stop the reproduction of thousands of future lionfish. Each female can lay thousands of eggs over and over.
Interesting artical we seem to be dealing with more and more invasive species and its partially because of our desire to own the strange and unsual and sometimes releasing them not considering the effect they have on the balance of the natural habit of native speacies. Owning the exotic without the comprehention. All to easy today.