Lion Fish off Gray's Reef

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sshindell

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GRAYS REEF, GA -- A deadly fish has been discovered for the first time in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary, located in the Atlantic Ocean, twenty miles off the Georgia coast.

The lionfish were spotted between 60 and 70 feet below the surface, making it one of the shallowest confirmed adult lionfish sightings.

Red lionfish have maroon and white zebra stripes and a plume of feathery spines.

Lionfish stings can be excruciatingly painful.

A person punctured by the sharp spines will immediately feel a strong pain. Rapid swelling of the affected body area develops along with the possibility of making movement of limbs very difficult. Lion-fish stings can cause nausea, breathing difficulties, paralysis, convulsions and collapse. Even death may occur in some instances.

Lionfish stings are also a new marine-related injury not previously encountered by area physicians, hospitals, or first responders.

Divers visiting the Gray’s Reef sanctuary are urged to exercise caution around lionfish. Sanctuary officials are asking divers to report sightings of lionfish to Gray’s Reef sanctuary staff at 912-598-2345
 
This is no surprise at all. It was only a matter of time. They got there by reefkeepers wild releasing their fish. They are extremely abundant all the way up towards the wrecks of NC. Many sittings of lionfish up on the outer banks. It is no surprise they have come down south to warmer water where the gulf stream catches the Atlantic. I see this quite a bit when I am diving. I see lots of pleco's in freshwater springs in florida, even though they are nowhere native to that area. Lots of people buying fish that outgrow their aquariums and releasing them.
 
Corigan;92660 wrote: This is no surprise at all. It was only a matter of time. They got there by reefkeepers wild releasing their fish. They are extremely abundant all the way up towards the wrecks of NC. Many sittings of lionfish up on the outer banks. It is no surprise they have come down south to warmer water where the gulf stream catches the Atlantic. I see this quite a bit when I am diving. I see lots of pleco's in freshwater springs in florida, even though they are nowhere native to that area. Lots of people buying fish that outgrow their aquariums and releasing them.
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Absolutely agreed. And people wonder why hobbyist have a bad reputation. There is a ton of inicidents like this occurring all over the world, and not only by hobbyists. The National Oceanographic Museum in Monaco (home of the hall of fame aquarist Dr. Jaubert) is quite notorious for introducing Caulerpa taxifolia to the mediterranean where it is obliterating the ecosystem (exactly as it is in California). That being said, the Monaco museum has never confessed or admitted fault, but, without getting into details that would bore everyone but me to tears, it is quite obvious and apparent they are the cause.
At any rate, this particular case was only a matter of time. Joe Yaullio at Atlantis Aquarium in NYC has mentioned there are sitings of lionfish of the peirs in NYC!
 
Thats crazy! I remember Kevin posted some pics from his trip to the Caribbean and there were several sightings of them there as well.
 
You should see the colorful populations of African Cichlids living and reproducing quite contently in the streams of Hawaii.
 
And the snakeheads and Pacus living in living in North American waterways. Wells all is said and done, it really is quite a sad state of affairs which has its finger pointed firmly at the hobbyist.

And people wonder why I take things in this hobby so seriously....
 
yeah you can catch alot of CA, SA, and African cichlids all over florida. More on the CA and SA cichlids though it is a shame for sure!
 
As stroud said, I posted pics of my trip to the bahamas. Blackbeard cruises does lionfish trips year round where they track them I'm the islands. I have heard stories of them as far north in the atlantic as Delaware, where the water is very murky and you cannot see them, very scary.

There is the same thing with Caulerpa (sp?) if you flush it down the toilet, it invades the coastal waters
 
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