Piner High School STEAM Certificate

Level 1 Response
Han Nguyen

Presentation: The Trouble With Lionfish

Presenter: Steve Gittings
Date: 21 July 2022

Presentation Summary:

Known for their venomous spines, lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific sea. In the
1980s, they showed up in South Florida and the population exploded in the 2000s. Lionfish are
now invading the Atlantic ocean along the east coast, throughout the Caribbean, including the
Bahamas, and all the way down to Belize. With very high rates of production and no natural
predators in this region, Lionfish are taking over the Atlantic, which is becoming increasingly
detrimental to native species and the ecosystem but has its toll on human fairs as well. Steve
Gittings, who has spent 40 years engaging in scientific diving, explained the results of Lionfish
invading the Atlantic, and the measures taken to slow the growth.
Lionfish are thriving in the Atlantic due to their characteristics and the Atlantic’s lack of
protective characteristics against this invasive species. They reproduce at rates of two million
eggs per year per female and mature at one year every three to four days. A single lionfish eats
5,000 fish a year, and 200 lionfish can eat one million fish a year. They eat just about anything
that will fit in their mouth, and native species do not have the instinct to fear them. Additionally,
lionfish have no natural predators, and their venomous spines help keep it that way. In the past
few years, staggering declines in native species have been observed due to mass reproduction,
consumption, and high survival rates of lionfish in the Atlantic ocean.
Lionfish are dominating ecosystems in the Atlantic, leading to a loss of masses of fish,
including cleaner fish. The job of the cleaner fish is to clean other fish, and because they are
declining in population, the fish who need to get cleaned are getting ill. There has also been a
loss of invertebrates as well as herbivores, which led to algae overgrowth. However, the impacts
of this invasive species do not stop at the beach; these problems have expanded into land and
human life too. Lionfish eat juvenile snapper and grouper fish, so the adult fish we eat are not
being replaced. Because they are getting harder to come by, that drives up the price in the
market. Lionfish also reduce lobster catches in traps by getting trapped instead of lobsters, and
again, less availability has increased the price of lobster.
Humans have changed the ocean so much through overuse that some ecosystems just
cannot respond to the changes, such as the situation with lionfish. Ideally, an emphasis on
prevention would protect ecosystems from having to deal with any harm, and in this way, the
mass killing of lionfish in the Atlantic would not be necessary. The eradication of lionfish from
the Atlantic is impossible (there are too many of them now) but controlling the population is.
Publicizing the trouble with lionfish and means of control are important because it allows the
general public to be part of the solution. By popularizing sportfishing and hunting derbies of
lionfish, population growth can be slowed by a little. Currently, the best option seems to be to
wait for diseases and parasites to kill them off, but in the meantime, teams of scientists are
studying the invasive species and implementing control plans. Most invasive species grow
exponentially until they reach a peak and their population growth levels out; we are not sure if
lionfish have reached that point or have passed it yet, but we know their presence is not only
damaging to the reefs of the Atlantic; it has recently reached the western Mediterranean too, and
early action cannot be overlooked this time.

Reflection:

Lionfish aren’t a topic that typically comes up in conversation, so when I heard NOAA
was going to have a webinar about them, I was intrigued. Before the webinar, I wasn’t even
aware lionfish were invading the other side of the country. I always associated lionfish with
Australia, so I didn’t even know they could be found along Africa and South Asia. It’s
astounding how quickly they reproduce and how fast they were able to take over the Atlantic
once they got the momentum started. Part of the solution mentioned in the webinar was to
introduce lionfish to cuisine, which I thought was an interesting approach. I could see that
working in America; I don’t think it would be too popular, but the novelty would attract some
people who would want to try it for a trend or fun, and maybe there would be some people who
like it and eat it on occasion. This then got me thinking: “What if this happened in Japan or
China or some other Asian country because I’ve seen far too many comments on the internet
saying “Those people will eat anything that moves”. I’m sure an American could watch another
American eat lionfish and be mildly disturbed with their choice of cuisine, but still be more or
less respectful, but god forbid it’s an Asian person, otherwise it’s “COVID 22”. That was an
off-topic rant, but I found that to be the most, though unintentional, provocative part of the
webinar.
The webinar spent some time crediting people who are helping control the lionfish
population in the Atlantic, whether it be through expert fishing or teams of scientists, and I
thought it was fascinating how some people can be so passionate about something obscure that
nobody else really thinks about. There are people out there who have devoted their careers to
researching, controlling, and capturing lionfish; I think it’s great they engage in something
they’re passionate about every day, but it’s also a bit curious of a passion to have because I’m
sure they didn’t dream of being lionfish hunters or experts when they were little. How does that
passion even come about? The situation in the Atlantic is getting increasingly worse, so I’m also
wondering if we are ever able to control the lionfish, how long would restoration take? Is there
any damage that’s been done that is irreversible? How did they end up in the Atlantic and
Mediterranean in the first place?

Related Article:

Gupta, Anika. “Invasion of the Lionfish.” Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2009,

www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/invasion-of-the-lionfish-131647135.

The 2009 Smithsonian article, “Invasion of the Lionfish”, by Anika Gupta describes the
alarming rates at which lionfish have been engulfing the Atlantic ocean, what makes them so
threatening, and their impacts on the Atlantic ocean. The means by which lionfish were able to
infiltrate the western Atlantic ocean is unknown, or how many of them it took to start this
revolution, but however it started, even in 2009, scientists stated that the effects of lionfish on
Western Atlantic ecosystems are nearly impossible to reverse. Gupta states, “They have
multiplied at a rate that is almost unheard of in marine history, going from nonexistent to
pervasive in just a few short years.” It doesn’t help that they consume over 50 native species and
have starved out others. This is affecting tourism as well, especially in the Bahamas, where
people often come to snorkel or dive to see marine life. The Bahamas is home to over 1,200
species of fish, many of which are exclusively found there, so tourists aren’t so happy to find out
all the beautiful sea life has been replaced by venomous, candy-cane-looking fish which can
cause days of paralysis from a single prick. The article also mentions consuming lionfish as part
of population control; many people are skeptical at first, but later described it to be quite pleasant
in taste and texture.
After reading this article, I’m very curious how lionfish ended up in the Atlantic; it could
have been an accident or the doing of some very irresponsible people. Either way, it’s
astounding how large of an impact they’ve had, not to mention that this article was written 13
years ago. The situation is surely far more dire now. A part of me wishes to know what lionfish
tastes like after reading those descriptions but knowing what they look like and what they can do
when alive is a bit of a deterrent. Overall, I thought this topic was interesting, but not something
I would like to put more time into studying. I am passionate about environmental health and
climate change, but I don’t think I’ve quite processed the numbers that were thrown at me yet;
it’s a bit hard to put into perspective. I find I resonate with people more easily, and dying
tourism is not enough of a reason for me to look into this further.