9 Inch Lionfish Captured on Key Largo Elbow Reef

Any doubt about the prevalence of lionfish in Florida Keys waters ended July 5. The largest lionfish yet captured in the Keys — 9 inches total length — was netted at The Elbow Reef off Key Largo. It was the eighth exotic lionfish taken in Keys waters since the first capture in January, an average of better than one a month.

“This was the largest Keys fish so far, and certainly reproductively capable,” said Lad Akins, special projects director at the Reef Environmental Education Foundation. “We’re getting lionfish sightings with more frequency,” said Karrie Carnes, information officer for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

A response team formed by the sanctuary and REEF headed to The Elbow after the big lionfish was spotted around 11 a.m. July 5 by Quiescence Diving Services instructor Chelyn Shaw. Quiescence staff volunteered a boat and crew.

“At 3:30 p.m. the fish was located in exactly the same location as reported,” Akins said. “The fish was first noted resting upside down under a ledge, but during the removal dive it was found hovering over the sand bottom under the ledge, hunting.” It took divers just eight minutes to find and net the fish, the most efficient capture yet, Carnes said.

Lionfish sport an array of feathery plumed spines, all of which pack a strong venom jolt for divers and snorkelers who are stuck. “It hurt so bad I wanted to cut my hand off with a meat cleaver. It’s much worse than an urchin sting,” Bahamas dive operator Bruce Purdy told the Keynoter earlier this year. Treatment with hot water, a common remedy for jellyfish stings, helped make the pain bearable, Purdy said.

However, experts say the primary concern about lionfish is not the threat to humans but the environmental havoc they may wreak. A ravenous, prolific Pacific Ocean species, lionfish do not belong in South Florida. Since lionfish breed rapidly, large populations could wipe out native species and cause major disruptions in the ecological balance at the reef. “They have the potential to impact native fisheries resources that are economically important for commercial fishing and tourism,” said David Morris, a federal biologist. Lionfish apparently have no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean. The species may have gained a foothold along the coast of the U.S. and the Caribbean when hurricanes flooded aquariums.

Divers and snorkelers who see lionfish should call local reporting hotlines: 852-0030 or 395-8730.

By KEVIN WADLOW
kwadlow@keynoter.com
Posted – Saturday, July 11, 2009 11:01 AM EDT