During the three years after their first sighting in the territory in 2008, about 800 lionfish were taken from the waters around St. Croix. In 2012, the number had grown to between 7,000 and 10,000 fish, but according to research the infestation may be leveling off.
At the end of 2012, members of dive and fishing groups on St. Croix estimated they had removed 7,000 lionfish that year, according to Anthony Mastroianni of Lionfish Safari, a private non-profit group. Jenn Travis, project coordinator and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration coral fellow, said local fishermen could account for another 3,000 fish.
On Wednesday, the Friends of the East End Marine Park, a non-profit organization, hosted a public meeting, attended by a handful of stakeholders, at You Are Here Bar and Grille to review and update the Lionfish Response Plan, written by The Nature Conservancy in 2009.
The updated comprehensive plan, with input from public forums and a written survey, outlines goals to address control and removal of the fish, education and outreach, research and monitoring as well as marketing and communications.
“If we lose the reefs – the coral – we lose the sea grass beds, we lose the sea turtles,” Travis said.
The agencies that assisted The Nature Conservancy in scripting both plans include the the Fish and Wildlife Division of the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the St. Croix Environmental Association, the National Park Service, the Caribbean Oceanic Research and Education Foundation, the office of Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen, NOAA, the University of the Virgin Islands, Coastal Zone Management, dive clubs and individual researchers, divers and fishermen.
The lionfish plan update included a statement of the status of lionfish control efforts since 2009. It reported that frequent trips by divers and fishermen have kept lionfish numbers low at many popular dive sites and moorings and the occurrence of lionfish may have leveled off as a result.
According to the TNC’s research, since 2009 markets and restaurants have purchased more lionfish for human consumption. Travis believes consumption will increase and value added items, such as jewelry and toothpicks, can be made from the spines.
The attendees at Wednesday’s meeting debated the effects of ciguatera on a lionfish market. They said research shows lionfish ciguatera levels to be about the same as other reef fish. Travis said that because local fisherman know the “hot spots” for ciguatera, a safe market can be developed.
“If fishermen kill lionfish they’re “increasing their future fishing profits,” Travis said.
Travis asked the public to read the plan and comment at the Lionfish Response Plan website.
She said the plan needs public participation, funding and the involvement of federal and local agencies.
The Pacific Lionfish was first discovered in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida in 1992. Its spines are venomous but when removed, the fish is edible. Since 1992, the marine predator has migrated to South America and has infested some areas, like the Bahamas, with unmanageable numbers.
The lionfish endangers reef ecology and the fish industry by eating juvenile fish, octopus, squid, shrimp and lobster. They are prolific and adaptable. Mature females can lay 30,000 eggs every four days and they can live up to 15 years.
Lionfish have been spotted at a various depths – from a dozen inches of water to more than 1,000 feet.
As the waters become infested with lionfish, there are fewer fish to feed residents. Tourism suffers because fewer people visit the territory to dive and snorkel. The victim species negatively affect the oceans’ ecology and impacts recreation and commercial interests.
In 2009 and 2010, the local response to the first lionfish sightings of the coastlines of St. Croix was quick. Joseph Gulli founded CORE in 2009 and the non-profit organization has trapped the fish and educated fishermen and the public on all three islands ever since. Swimmers who spot lionfish can even report the location at www.corevi.org and a diver will capture it, usually within 24 hours, Nadija Packauskas, CORE outreach coordinator, said.
In 2012, a bill was introduced in the V.I. Legislature to establish a special committee to work out effective responses, establish rules and regulations and craft a lionfish response plan. The bill was vetoed by Gov. John de Jongh, Jr. because the $150,000 appropriation to manage the committee could jeopardize federal funding, he said. The Senate voted to override the governor’s veto but since then no action has been taken to establish the committee.
Groups such as CORE, Lionfish Safari and individual divers currently capture 15-20 lionfish per dive and south of Frederiksted, 50-100 fish are caught at a time, according to Travis.
Not only have the numbers of lionfish grown but the fish are bigger, growing 14 to 18 inches in length. The most populous areas are the west end of St. Croix and the South Shore. However, since divers cannot go as deep as the fish, there may be more at greater depths, Travis pointed out.
According to the World Lionfish Hunters Association, the lionfish population “continues to grow at an alarming rate and move more southward every day. According to the organization, native fish stock are down and some commercial and lobster fisheries “are crashing” as a direct result of lionfish predation.
“Invasive lionfish are disastrously out-breeding, out-living, out-eating and out-competing every other native fish in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. If left unchecked, lionfish will ultimately cause the destruction of the reefs, native fish stocks and the livelihoods of everyone that depend upon them.” the website warns.
