Another Look at the Lionfish Invasion

By now, most of you have been made aware of the lionfish invasion that currently has a stranglehold on both the Caribbean and the Atlantic. For the most part, the only information that has been posted on the net has been centered around how the invasion started and what people are doing to stop it. But this latest video, a Boyd Enterprises sponsored Fincast, examines more than just those two bullet points. The crew also looks at what the lionfish are eating and how their presence is affecting the reef ecosystems. With the help of Jeff Turner and Dr. Matt Wittenrich, the lionfish are hunted down and carved up so that their gut contents can be analyzed. To no surprise, the analysis revealed that the lionfish, which continue their conquest of the Florida Keys unabated, are eating small fish. While this may not seem like a big deal, the lionfish have an insatiable appetite and are gobbling up small fish at an alarming rate. This takes food out of the mouths of native predatory fish, which throws off the balance of the ecosystem.