usvi-on-line
Another lionfish found on STJ
Another lionfish found on STJ
Juvenile Lionfish Found on St. John
A juvenile lionfish turned up Sunday at Great Lameshur Bay on the south side of St. John, V.I. Environmental Resource Station Administrator (VIERS) Randy Brown said Monday.
"That means they're having babies," Brown said.
The lionfish was two inches long and was captured by Nick Przyusi, a researcher at the University of San Diego, who's worked at VIERS since August, Brown said.
The scourge of lionfish started on St. Croix in December 2008 and has since spread to St. Thomas, St. John and the nearby British Virgin Islands.
"The gate is open and they are coming," said Rafe Boulon, chief of resource management at V.I. National Park.
The first lionfish on St. John was captured March 9 near Waterlemon Cay on the island's north side by V.I. National Park staff. Boulon said that fish was also a juvenile.
The lionfish captured Sunday is in the park's freezer, Boulon said.
William Coles, chief of environmental education at the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said a total of 26 lionfish have been captured. He said the 25 were in the U.S. Virgin Islands and one in the British Virgin Islands.
Just last week, Coles said lionfish turned up at Stumpy Bay on St. Thomas and on Hans Lollick, an island off St. Thomas.
He urged anyone who spots a lionfish to report it. To make it easier for scientists and others to capture them, he asked that those who swim, snorkel or dive carry a make-at-home marker to identify the spot where they saw the lionfish. It uses about four feet of emergency tape such as the type used at crime scenes. The tape is tied to a washer of the size used with a three-quarter-inch bolt. Tie the other end to a wine bottle cork. When the fish is spotted, drop the device in the water. Call Fish and Wildlife or the park for assistance.
"Everyone that was marked was found and removed very quickly," Coles said.
Staff at government agencies, as well as dive shops in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, are working together to fight the arrival of the lionfish, but Coles said that people swimming, snorkeling and diving are the first line of defense.
The fish are dangerous predators that threaten to eat the territory's reef fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Those reef fish keep the reefs clean of algae. If the algae take over, the reefs will die.
Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific region but invaded the Atlantic after Hurricane Andrew devastated south Florida in 1992. People dumped aquarium contents into the ocean because they didn't have any electricity to keep the aquariums running. Divers saw the first one off Florida in 1994.
View complete instructions on making the lionfish markers at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHzpm2zeTL0
To report sightings, call Boulon at 693-8950, extension 224. Reach Coles on the lionfish hotline at 643-0800.
http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... nd-st-john
A juvenile lionfish turned up Sunday at Great Lameshur Bay on the south side of St. John, V.I. Environmental Resource Station Administrator (VIERS) Randy Brown said Monday.
"That means they're having babies," Brown said.
The lionfish was two inches long and was captured by Nick Przyusi, a researcher at the University of San Diego, who's worked at VIERS since August, Brown said.
The scourge of lionfish started on St. Croix in December 2008 and has since spread to St. Thomas, St. John and the nearby British Virgin Islands.
"The gate is open and they are coming," said Rafe Boulon, chief of resource management at V.I. National Park.
The first lionfish on St. John was captured March 9 near Waterlemon Cay on the island's north side by V.I. National Park staff. Boulon said that fish was also a juvenile.
The lionfish captured Sunday is in the park's freezer, Boulon said.
William Coles, chief of environmental education at the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said a total of 26 lionfish have been captured. He said the 25 were in the U.S. Virgin Islands and one in the British Virgin Islands.
Just last week, Coles said lionfish turned up at Stumpy Bay on St. Thomas and on Hans Lollick, an island off St. Thomas.
He urged anyone who spots a lionfish to report it. To make it easier for scientists and others to capture them, he asked that those who swim, snorkel or dive carry a make-at-home marker to identify the spot where they saw the lionfish. It uses about four feet of emergency tape such as the type used at crime scenes. The tape is tied to a washer of the size used with a three-quarter-inch bolt. Tie the other end to a wine bottle cork. When the fish is spotted, drop the device in the water. Call Fish and Wildlife or the park for assistance.
"Everyone that was marked was found and removed very quickly," Coles said.
Staff at government agencies, as well as dive shops in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, are working together to fight the arrival of the lionfish, but Coles said that people swimming, snorkeling and diving are the first line of defense.
The fish are dangerous predators that threaten to eat the territory's reef fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Those reef fish keep the reefs clean of algae. If the algae take over, the reefs will die.
Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific region but invaded the Atlantic after Hurricane Andrew devastated south Florida in 1992. People dumped aquarium contents into the ocean because they didn't have any electricity to keep the aquariums running. Divers saw the first one off Florida in 1994.
View complete instructions on making the lionfish markers at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHzpm2zeTL0
To report sightings, call Boulon at 693-8950, extension 224. Reach Coles on the lionfish hotline at 643-0800.
http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... nd-st-john
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texasmermaid
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:06 pm
- Location: Too far from H20, TX
Thanks for posting this. It is sad to see this species invade our Caribbean waters. They are beautiful to watch in the Pacific - where they belong - but not here.
Divesherpa (hubby) & I will be on the lookout for lionfish when we get there in April. Thanks for posting the instructions for the in-water markers - we will need to drink plenty of wine before we leave so we can make some markers in case we see any lionfish.
It is our civic duty as divers/snorkelers to be prepared, don't you agree? Bottles of wine will just have to be sacrificed...
Divesherpa (hubby) & I will be on the lookout for lionfish when we get there in April. Thanks for posting the instructions for the in-water markers - we will need to drink plenty of wine before we leave so we can make some markers in case we see any lionfish.
It is our civic duty as divers/snorkelers to be prepared, don't you agree? Bottles of wine will just have to be sacrificed...
texasmermaid wrote: Thanks for posting the instructions for the in-water markers - we will need to drink plenty of wine before we leave so we can make some markers in case we see any lionfish.
Yes, do be prepared!
Corks will be needed on all shores of the VI. We all must contribute to the effort as best we can.
... no longer a stranger to paradise
We'll be bringing a half dozen markers with us in May.
Does anyone have a good idea of how to attach the tape to the cork? I was condidering copious amount of super glue, but I don't know how that would stand up to sea water. I was also considering leaving a "tail" of tape at the cork to make it more visible from the surface.
Does anyone else have any ideas?
JIM
Does anyone have a good idea of how to attach the tape to the cork? I was condidering copious amount of super glue, but I don't know how that would stand up to sea water. I was also considering leaving a "tail" of tape at the cork to make it more visible from the surface.
Does anyone else have any ideas?
JIM
Man it's like some dream we live down here....
you know, it would be nice if villa owners (or visitors like us) would leave a few extra markers and instructions behind in the house.
the one thing that concerns me is that this ends up being new trash on the beach. but hopefully the type that brings these knows better....
btw, I have about 2 years worth of corks here!
the one thing that concerns me is that this ends up being new trash on the beach. but hopefully the type that brings these knows better....
btw, I have about 2 years worth of corks here!
"Sponges grow in the ocean...I wonder how much deeper it would be if that didn't happen."
In the video the "tape" is pushed through the hole (you have drilled) in the cork and tied.jimg20 wrote:We'll be bringing a half dozen markers with us in May.
Does anyone have a good idea of how to attach the tape to the cork?
JIM
Disclaimer: I have not tried this at home!
A good fact sheet (pdf)(updated in 2008) for the lionfish is
http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/document ... ish_id.pdf
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= ... 368&ref=nf
which is pictured below
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridalin ... 478621891/" title="Picture 60 by lprof, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/447 ... c122_o.png" width="471" height="619" alt="Picture 60"></a>
This brief video also is informative.
http://www.rd.com/video/the-invader-lio ... 76150.html
Last edited by lprof on Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
... no longer a stranger to paradise
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StJohnRuth
- Posts: 1989
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:42 pm
- Location: St. John, VI