Lion fish

These beautiful fish are not native to these shores but have been spotted numerous times lately. They have beautiful spikes which are venemous and can cause a nasty sting if they get you. I have 2 friends who have both been surprised when swimming close to the shore in Puerto Morelos and unfortunately been stung.
The government in Q. Roo is now asking anyone who encounters these fish to report them. They are destroying the reef as well as being dangerous to swimmers.
Tracey

 

They are gorgeous!

I know that they do inhabit the Caribbean Sea, so Im confused as why they arent supposed to be around here :?

Could they mean that these particular ones are from the same family, but a different locality...?

I know hurricanes can move species of fish and crustaceans etc. quite a bit...

 

They are native to the East Pacific and Oceana. There is a theory that these have escaped from an aquarium and have multiplied rapidly.
There are posters around Cancun asking for poeple to report sightings.
Cancun Canuck wrote about them in her blog a few weeks ago and then I started to see the warnings.
They are truly beautiful but very toxic.
Tracey

 

Volitan Lionfish (Pterois volitans) is the one that has been spotted?

The ones I referred to as "inhabiting the Caribbean Sea" are the ones that were introduced a LONG time ago, should have clarified - my bad

I believe the first known introduction occurred around 1990-1992 in this area...

So are there any other instructions except simply reporting sightings?

When I went fishing i some remote areas in Northern Victoria(Australia), we were given pamphlets regarding carps. It was illegal to put them back into the water if caught. If one was caught putting them back, you would get a big fine.

 

Lionfish are NOT native to anywhere east of the Panama canal. I had always heard that they were unwanted aquarium fish that were released, rather than being dealt with in a more responsible manner. They are now sighted off So. Florida waters as well, and the State has asked that divers and fishermen destroy those that are seen or caught. They have mouths that can open like a grouper, and can inhale quite a large prey, relative to their own body size. Pretty yes, but don't mess with them.

 

I am not sure about Cancun, but I know that south of there in areas around Akumal and over in Cozumel, dive masters are ordered to trap, kill, report lionfish as they find them.

Eradication is impossible at this point, but slowing the growth of the population is the best bet.

 

From today's Novedades(my translation):

"Lionfish: An Out-of-Control Predator.

Agencia ID

At the beginning of 2009 the appearance of the lionfish ( pterois volitans), an exotic fish originally from the Indian-Pacific area (East of Africa, South of Asia and Oceania) was reported in the Yucatan Peninsula and has caused chaos in the Caribbean marine life. It is believed that its entrance into the waters of the American continent is due to the rupture of aquariums with the species in it during Hurricane Andrew that hit Florida in 1992.

Ocean currents brought it to Mexico and its biological characteristics have permitted it to adapt and reproduce rapidly. It lays about 15,000 eggs at a time and despite the fact that not all survive it is a species that breeds all year long.

The lionfish has become a voracious predator and feeder of fish and lobster, has almost no natural predators in the area and while hiding among the reefs, passes almost unnoticed by its prey.

According to Dr. Maria Eugenia Vega Cendejas of the Merida Unit of the Center for Investigation and Advanced Study (Cinvestav) what could be done to stop the effects on the country is to commercialize its consumption and get it out of the ocean as much as possible.

Another option that they use in the Bahamas is to offer a financial reward for its capture and extraction."
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Here is a link to the Wikipedia link:Lionfish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia