Are lionfish from the Indo-Pacific Ocean going to destroy the fishery around the Virgin Islands? Possibly.
St. Croix residents are organizing to stop its spread.
On Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Curriculum Center, there will be a discussion about what divers can do to stop this invasive fish from multiplying in local waters.
Reports are not good. It is said that the lionfish, within a five-week period, eliminated 85 percent of the fish on a Bahamian reef.
Local dive shops are joining forces to send out teams three times a month to hunt and remove the lionfish from St. Croix. The lionfish has no known predators in the Caribbean, so at this point it has been left to humans to keep them under control.
To date, divers have collected nine lionfish in St. Croix waters. For more information or to report a lionfish, contact the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife at 773-1082.
For more information about the meeting and dives, email nolionfishstx@yahoo.com.
