The Lion fish is one of the most visually pleasing fish in the ocean, but don’t let
its beauty fool you because it can be more of a beast. They have up to 18 very
poisonous spines which can literally take your breath away. Although the venom
of this fish is certainly fatal to smaller animals in the ocean it is very very
very rare that it would be fatal to humans in fact St Kilda have more chance of
winning a premiership then then lionfish does of killing you, although both are
very painful thoughts.
The Lionfish is the nympho of the ocean in fact the female is thought to release up to 30,000 eggs every seven days which has caused the lionfish population to explode out of control especially in Florida, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. These places put this fish in the same category that us Australians put foxes, rabbits and closer to Queenslanders hearts the cane toad (a pest). Places in the Caribbean even host days where volunteer divers go out hunting down as many lionfish as possible, although the
thought of killing this stunning creature is evil in my opinion it is a
necessary one, as the lionfish is a devastating hunter. They hunt in packs not
dissimilar to a real lion pride, with one main dominating male and several
females, swarming in on little schools of juvenile fish cornering them and
chowing down as if they were at an all you can eat buffet. This is a huge
threat to the native fish in these areas as the lionfish eats the native
juveniles before they are at a mature breeding age which could cause extinction,
hence the creation of the WLHA (World Lionfish Hunters Association).Lionfish
are native to our area and are not out of control, there are many natural
predators in Australian waters which look at the lionfish as a yummy prickly
treat, sharks, groupers and eels all love to sink their teeth into. Some people
do love to eat this so called king of the ocean and there are many great
lionfish recipes including fried Bahamian style lionfish, tempura lionfish,
seared Greek style lionfish, the lionfish taco and my personal favourite hot
lionfish poppers. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
So when you are taking a picture of this truly photogenic fish on the Hmas
Brisbane be careful not to get to close as his bark is defiantly as bad as his
bite.
