Lionfish Tournament (click)

New this year, CRABBS Dive Club will be hosting a Lionfish Tournament at Reef Jam.  They have lined up so many prizes, that you’d be silly NOT to catch a fish!

Click the link below for rules and information
Lion Fish Tournament

Sign up at any St Croix dive shop to have a chance at the great prizes for the Lionfish Tournament!

Sunday Beach Day –  2 Sunday brunches and unlimited tanks and weights to dive the Davis Bay Wall – donated by Sweet Bottom Dive Center and Carambola Beach Resort
$50 Gift Certificate – donated by Sonya, Ltd.
2 Family Day Passes to Coral World on St. Thomas – donated by Coral World
2 Tank Fill Gift Certificates – donated by Cane Bay Dive Shop
2 Tank Boat Dive – donated by N2theBlue Dive Shop
Lionfish Equipment – 1 large catch net, 2 small catch nets, 1 slurp gun, 1 spear gun – donated by N2theBlue Dive Shop

***Remember, their spines are poisonous, so BE CAREFUL!!!

Quick Lionfish Facts from Reef.org

Invasion history

  • Two visually identical species of lionfish were introduced into the Atlantic via the US aquarium trade beginning in 1980’s
  • Lionfish invaded range is NC to South America including the Gulf of Mexico
  • Lionfish have established throughout most of the Caribbean in less than 3 years (first reports outside of the Bahamas in 2007)

Biology

  • Lionfish may live longer than 15 years reaching sizes exceeding 47cm (~20 in.)
  • Lionfish inhabit all marine habitat types and depths (shoreline to  over 600’)
  • Lionfish possess venomous spines capable of deterring predators and inflicting serious stings and reactions in humans
  • Lionfish become sexually mature in less than 1-year and spawn in pairs
  • In the Caribbean a single female lionfish can spawn over ~2 million eggs/year
  • Reproduction occurs throughout the year about every 4 days
  • Lionfish eggs are held together in a gelatinous mass and are dispersed at the ocean’s surface by currents, where their larval duration is ~30 days

Ecology

  • Lionfish can reach densities over 200 adults per acre
  • Lionfish are generalist carnivores that consume >56 species of fish and many invertebrate species, with prey exceeding half the lionfish’s body size
  • Many lionfish prey are commercially, recreationally, and ecologically important
  • Lionfish populations can consume > 2.1 kg (4.5 lb) of prey/ hectare/day
  • On heavily invaded sites, lionfish have reduced their fish prey by up to 90% and continue to consume native fishes at unsustainable rates
  • Native predators exhibit avoidance for lionfish
  • Lionfish have very few parasites compared to native species
  • Lionfish exhibit site fidelity

Control

  • Lionfish are edible and considered a delicacy
    ***NOTE: Recent studies have shown that lionfish may have ciguatera, so please take caution until more conclusive studies come out
  • Local removal efforts can significantly reduce lionfish densities

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 24th, 2011 at 9:25 AM. It is filed under Jam Flash, REEFJAM HIGHLIGHTS, Reeftivities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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