Look what Gary Salyers and his son netted in Gary's canal on Westminster. A Lion Fish. The Lion Fish has invaded our reefs and now our canals.
Pretty much everything about the venomous lion fish—its red-and-white zebra stripes, long, showy pectoral fins, and generally cantankerous demeanor—says, "Don't touch!"
The venom of the lionfish, delivered via an array of up to 18 needle-like dorsal fins, is purely defensive. It relies on camouflage and lightning-fast reflexes to capture prey, mainly fish and shrimp. A sting from a lionfish is extremely painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties, but is rarely fatal.
Lionfish, also called turkey fish, dragon fish and scorpion fish, are native to the reefs and rocky crevices of the Indo-Pacific, although they've found their way to warm ocean habitats worldwide.
The largest of lionfish can grow to about 15 inches (0.4 meters) in length, but the average is closer to 1 foot (0.3 meters).
Lionfish are popular in some parts of the world as food, but are far more prized in the aquarium trade. Their population numbers are healthy and their distribution is growing, causing some concerned in the United States, where some feel the success of this non-indigenous species presents human and environmental dangers. From National Geographic
Ian and Roy from Aberdeen Court caught their New Year's Eve dinner today. They rented a boat at Snappers and fished the patch reefs. They caught a lot of fish including all kinds of under sized grouper. By the way, today was the last day you can keep grouper for a few months.
Big Fish Bob Randall went fishing Christmas Day and caught this 11 pound Steelhead.
Gary Salyers Jr. from Camelot and his friend hold up a few Gag Grouper they caught recently.
Look what Gary Salyers and his son netted in Gary's canal on Westminster. A Lion Fish. The Lion Fish has invaded our reefs and now our canals.
