Invasive Specie: Growing Population of Lionfish in the Mediterranean Poses Threat to Ecosystem

Recent proposal has been given that the number of lionfish in the areas of Mediterranean have been increasing.This poses a huge threat not just to the ecosystem but also to the people living near the area.

Lionfish also known as turkey fish is a common type of fish, mostly found on South Pacific Ocean, East Coast of the United States, and the Caribbean Sea. This type of fish is known for its venomous fin spines. Anyone who gets hit by the fins can experience extreme pain from punctured flesh and the venom itself. Like any other fishes, they use their fins as a defensive stand for predators in the ocean.

The best-known lionfish is the "Red Lionfish" which grows up to 12 inches long and is a spark to the eyes of the fishers because of its natural red appearance and fancy skin design.

Actual experience with the lionfish

(Photo : Photo by Nariman Mesharrafa on Unsplash)

Marine biologist from University of Plymouth named Jason Hall-Spencer have spoken and saw himself the abundance of lionfish in the coasts of United States. According to the biologists the abundance is due to the lack of natural predators able to take down the lionfish. Statistics also show that 2 million eggs of lionfish are produced.

Imagine that they settle one to two meters away from the coast and the possible danger it gives to divers. With collaboration to the Marine and Environmental Research lab in Cyprus, they survey the area and make removal operations, respectively. This process will take time and must need trained divers/operators to extract the lionfishes.

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The surpassing pain of the lionfishes to the ecosystem and community

There is more to what lionfishes do not including its venomous fins but also what it can do to the environment. These carnivorous fishes continue to damage coral reefs, its fast reproduction causing major problems to the biodiversity in the area, and their rapid spread across the coasts of United States.

As progress continues, the research shows that the reduction of lionfishes in the coast has been a great breathing room for biodiversity to be back to normal. By controlling its population, other types of fishes can now propagate freely and of course the hazards it gives to human lives.

Though the removal of fishes is daily, its reproduction is not monitored accurately and considering that they repopulate to different reefs. Some of the lionfishes also settle on deep parts of the coast which is unreachable to normal diving equipment. This paves way to more expense done by the government to monitor and do research about how and in what ways will they able to get rid of the lionfishes. It is a long-term mission that needs better information to be able to get the best results possible.

Government also advocates the consumption of lionfishes to the community. Giving instructions of how fishers can catch lionfishes safely. As this starts to be a norm to the community, as the value of these fishes also increase respectively, the number of catches will also increase and results to population of the lionfishes to be controlled.

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