Lionfish may be a beautiful creature but they are very veracious fish. Scientist have cut open lionfish and found up to 22 juvenile fish in one's stomach. All they do is eat all day and then sleep at night. They are also an invasive species to the Bahamas. Another thing is the lionfish are poisonous, and if you touch their barb it will burn like crazy and you will have to keep very hot water on it for 30-45 minutes.
Many marine organizations are trying to promote the extraction and consumption of the lionfish. The organizations are offering a catch and kill order on the Lionfish. In the Bahamas, the government is not allowing any live Lionfish to leave the area, so they must be killed before they are allowed to leave the area so that they are not rereleased into the ocean again. So is this the right thing to do? Do you leave something that is very beautiful, or do you take away a beautiful yet harmful invasive species? The choice is up to you, do you take it or do you leave it?
Jordan Nowakowski
Alana Hernandez
To add to your discussion... Thinking about invasive species is always hard- do you extract, do you introduce another species to take care of it, or do you let them be. A good friend of mine, who also happens to love the nature, asked me one day - "Jose, if you think in geological times, aren't all species invasive?" Something to think about guys. Enjoy your explorations...
Here in the Great Lakes, rainbow smelt are considered invasive species but over the years, native species have become reliant on them as food and fisheries have developed for people. When do you think invasive species stop being "invasive" and become part of the ecosystem? What do you think would happen if we decided to eradicate rainbow smelt from the Great Lakes?
- Michelle, Sustainable Practices Dept