The Silent Invasion Of The Lionfish
If the view above the water in the Florida Keys is majestic, below the surface is nothing short of breathtaking. Home to the third largest barrier reef system in the world marine life is everywhere. Surrounded by its beauty you could easily miss the trouble brewing right in front of you. A fish with extravagant fins camouflaged in the coral. It is called a lionfish and it's a long way from its home in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. This was the first time CBS4 News has captured underwater video of the lionfish on South Florida's shoreline. A year ago divers spotted just one of these non-native fish on a reef. Today there are thousands.
THE INVASION
"The invasion is in full force right now." Lad Akins told CBS4's David Sutta. You read that right. A fish invasion. Akins organization, REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation) has been tracking the lionfish since it appeared, with grave concern.
"Lionfish are gluttonous predators," explained Akins. "They'll eat anything that fits in their mouth. Up to half their own body size. Our work has shown over 50 different species or prey, fish, in lionfish stomachs. They are like vacuum cleaners."
So what's the big deal? Nothing in South Florida eats the lionfish. In fact there is video of divers feeding the fish to sharks. They just spit the lionfish out.
MYSTERIOUS APPEARANCE
No one knows how the lionfish got here. There are a number of theories ranging to an aquarium that exploded during a hurricane to a luxurious aquatic themed hotel that incidentally leaked lionfish eggs into the Caribbean. Scientists have documented sightings going back decades but never like this. A United States Geological Survey map dating back to 2000 shows the lionfish beginning to appear along the Eastern seaboard. Starting in 2009 something dramatic happened. The entire Caribbean and Florida Keys became saturated. It appeared to happen almost overnight and scientists can't explain it. "It really is an unprecedented invasion. We have never seen a marine fish invade and become so numerous like this before," said Dr. Pam Schofield of the USGS.
KING OF THE OCEAN
CBS4 News decided to take a closer look at the lionfish in the Keys by diving 40 feet below. Using a full face mask provided by Diver's Direct, Akins was able to talk to reporter David Sutta and his photographer underwater. On their very first dive they came across the lionfish.
"We are under Tea Table Bridge in the Florida Keys. And this is a lionfish," Akins said as he pointed the fish out.
The first thing noticeable in the presence of a lionfish is it is not afraid of you. There is good reason for that. The spines seen above the fish and ones hidden below are venomous. Just a brush with them will send you into extreme pain. Akins began handling the fish with a special glove. The glove had special protections against the spines going straight into him and inserting the venom.
While the venom is not deadly the only way to stop the pain is with hot water. It's something you could easily go get but not so easy for a predatory fish. This makes the lionfish king of more than just the jungle and its flourishing because of it.
ONE FISH - MILLIONS OF BABIES
"Lionfish reproduce very quickly. As often as every four days," explained Akins. "They produce 20,000 and 30,000 eggs every spawning event." That's 30,000 eggs every four days. While not every egg will take, even a small percentage is significant.
It was clearly evident the lionfish was doing well during Sutta's dive. In 10 minutes, he saw three. Remember just a year ago there was just one of these seen in the entire Keys. Akins showed Sutta how to remove the lionfish using a pair of aquarium nets. Unlike chasing a butterfly, Akins explained you have to "move very slowly trying not to scare the fish until I can get it into one of the nets."
Back on the surface, the catch looked a lot smaller. It was maybe three months old. Full grown, it can be two feet long, plus all those spines. As the lionfish gets bigger they eat bigger fish. The marine community is at a loss of how to stop it. There are indications that their predation could have profound effects on the ecosystem.
The Silent Invasion Of The Lionfish
Kevin Senecal owns the Divers Direct chain based in South Florida. He is extremely interested in the lionfish. "I'm not the scientist so I don't know what an invasion of lionfish can do to the reef. But I certainly do know that if what the scientists say is even a little bit true any major amounts of damage to the environment or the reefs is bad for the Florida economy," said Senecal.
Like many in the scuba industry he has grown concerned the lionfish could bite into tourism and recreational diving. It prompted Senecal to take an unusual step bankrolling an effort to roundup lionfish. "We are looking at this and saying number one from a business perspective the health of the reef is important to our business." said Senecal. So how do you roundup the new king of the jungle? A good ole fashion war party.
THE WAR ON LIONFISH
As the sun rises in Marathon a group of guys from Melbourne Florida hit the water competing with other divers to catch as many lionfish as possible. It's called a lionfish derby and these guys have a secret weapon, their own custom spear, called the Lion Hunter. Robbie Piluis explained how it works. "We get right up on them, shooting them with the spear, stick them in the ground, cut the spikes off, stick them in the bag, and continue on." Unlike most fish the lionfish doesn't fear anything including a spear. Divers literally swim up to them and shoot them without them moving.
The group set out to dive around a bridge. Lionfish tend to congregate around bridges but with strong tides it is nearly impossible. For hours the group could not find a single lionfish. But when the slack tide rolled in for 20 minutes the group went into a spearing frenzy. Piluis had never seen anything like it. "The lionfish stared right at my mask and was like 'how's it going?' They totally do not look like a dangerous creature underwater."
At the end of the day the hunters returned with their catch and war stories. "God bless America. That's the one that got me," one of them yelled out as he pointed at the biggest lionfish they caught. While clearing the cooler Mike got to experience the piercing sting of the fish. He didn't complain though. The group received first, second, and third place in the tournament. They earn $1,500 dollars catching fish the size of a hand.
WHAT TO EAT
The US Geological Survey looked over the catch, documented where these fish are being found and what they are eating. "We also want to see how that changes as the invasion progresses," explained Schofield.
Meanwhile Akins made dinner. "It tastes a lot like hogfish, hog snapper. Very light. Very delicate. It's not very strongly flavored so you can season it many different ways." The lionfish is actually good eating. Akins figures if he can get people to taste the fish, restaurants may take up his cause. The lionfish cookbook is due out later this year.
It may not be the end all to the silent invasion but it's a start in this fragile piece of paradise that could become very messy, very quickly.
"There are many impacts to marine systems that we are concerned about. With coral bleaching and disease. With global climate change. Overfishing and I think lionfish is sneaking in the backdoor as potentially one of the most devastating impacts we can see," said Akins.
So far more than 500 lionfish have been collected in the derbies. Another one is planned for November 13th.
Coming up Sunday, Nov. 14th at 6:30 p.m. we invite you to watch CBS4's I-Team special on the Lionfish where CBS4's David Sutta will show you what has happened just 45 miles from here in the Bahamas. The problem is so out of control the United Nations has had to offer assistance.
A special thanks to scubanation.com for their assistance with underwater video, Diver's Direct for providing ocean reef communication systems, Michael Steidley for safety instruction and dive assistance, Key's Dives for water transportation, and Lad Akins with reef.org for expert advice.
