Lionfish set up permanent home in Florida's waters

The invasive lionfish seem to have set up a new home in Florida's waters and according to marine scientists, they have moved in permanently. In 2011 a number of volunteers and divers went scuba diving in Florida to remove the greedy lionfish that originate from the South Pacific. The 2011 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby was organised by Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), and over a series of events throughout the year, 1,500 lionfish were caught.

Image by Mark Lightfoot, on Flickr.

Lionfish have venomous spiky tentacles that are not only used to catch prey but can also be dangerous to fisherman, divers and tourists scuba diving in Florida. They are territorial towards other reef fish and because they have no known predators, they pose a threat to delicate reef systems. By removing the fish, native species are able to grow and balance can be restored to the fragile coral ecosystem in Florida Keys.

Image by berniedup, on Flickr.

The non-native species are thought to have found their way into the ocean after being carelessly released into the waters by people who kept them in aquariums during the 1980's.

Marine scientists have discovered that lionfish tend to stay in one place for long periods of time which will make it easier to control their numbers through local attempts to remove them.

Zachary Jud, a marine scientist at Florida International University, explained: "These fish really stay put, at least in our system. We've had some fish that stayed in the same spot for months. The greatest distance some moved was a couple hundred feet."

Image by directdivers, on Flickr.

It is unlikely that these fish will ever be eradicated completely from Florida's waters but conservationists are keen to remove them from places such as marine sanctuaries, inlets and waterways where other fish and marine species reproduce.

Florida is one of the top scuba diving destinations in the United States and every year thousands of scuba diving enthusiasts flock to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary which covers an area of 2,900 square nautical miles. During scuba diving holidays in Florida, divers can explore colourful coral reefs, hard bottom, sea grass, mangrove forests, and thousands of incredible marine species including sea turtles, butterfly fish, sharks, dolphins, whales, rays, eels, and crocodiles.