Text by Erin Spencer, Photos courtesy of Lad Akins
A recent study published in Ecology and Evolution offers a new approach to traditional mark and recapture studies while providing valuable insight into the growth and movement patterns of invasive lionfish. Lad Akins, Dr. James Morris, and Dr. Stephanie Green teamed up to develop a novel way of visually tagging fish underwater, minimizing both tagging time and fish trauma.
Do you know what to do if you are stung by a lionfish? REEF, DEMA, and DAN teamed up to release a new lionfish sting first aid poster. View the poster below, or visit this link to download a copy of your own. Remember: prevention is the best first aid. Always use proper tools and techniques to avoid stings!
Images and text by Erin Spencer
Check out some of the photos from our third day on the Lionfish Control Study in Curacao! After a two tank dive in the morning (where we collected 176 lionfish), the team celebrated with a Ceviche Party at Kura Hulanda Lodge. The event was attended by trip participants, local lionfish enthusiasts, and Lodge visitors alike.
Check back daily for lionfish removal counts!
Come join us for the 1st Annual Upper Keys Lionfish Derby! For more information/register, go to www.reef.org/lionfish/derbies.
As part of REEF's continuing work on non-native species, particulary the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish, a multi-agency technical workshop was hosted by REEF, NOAA and the USGS to develop early detection and rapid response plans for Southeast Florida. Over 20 different state, federal and organizational offices were represented at the 2-day workshop, which was held June 18th and 19th in Marathon, Florida.
In response to the growing threat of lionfish in the Atlantic and the need for coordinated planning, REEF, NOAA and the USGS are hosting a technical workshop on Non-native Marine Fish Introductions of South Florida in the Florida Keys June 18 and 19. The workshop, jointly funded through a recent Mote Marine Laboratory’s Protect Our Reefs grant, NOAA’s Exotic Species and National Marine Sanctuary Programs and the Gulf and Atlantic States Regional Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species,will bring together personnel from more than 18 different agencies and organizations.
As many of you are aware, the recent invasion of Indo-Pacific lionfish into Atlantic waters has been causing great concern among researchers, marine park and fisheries managers, and divers. REEF, in partnership with Bahamian dive operators Stuart Cove and Bruce Purdy, NOAA, the USGS, the National Aquarium in Washington DC, the Bahamian Government and university groups, has spearheaded the field research for this rapidly expanding problem.
