Lionfish found off N.C. Coast.
Granted, 60 miles offshore, but still, what in the hell is going on here? They were found there last year, and they appear to be reproducing. Apparently they didn't die off over the winter. What do we do now? Try to eliminate them all?
Poisonous tropical fish found again along N.C. coast
ABOARD THE SEWARD JOHNSON - Scientists have come across a poisonous tropical fish near North Carolina's continental shelf for the second consecutive summer.
They are worried because the fish are not supposed to be there, said Ann Marie Necaise, a researcher with the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve.
On Tuesday, researchers came across 10 lionfish, a spiny fish native to the warm Pacific and Indian oceans, during a submersible dive in roughly 250-foot water about 60 miles off Wrightsville Beach.
Although attractive, its feather-like spines pack a painful punch. The lionfish's venom can produce abdominal pains in people, though fatalities are rare.
Officials fear the interloper, a top predator in its native habitat, could have a dramatic impact on local marine environments.
When scientists last year encountered the fish in the deep reefs near the edge of the continental shelf off North and South Carolina, they hoped the lionfish were just transients that had caught a ride up the Gulf Stream from the warm waters of Florida and the Caribbean.
If that were the case, then the fish would die when the cold weather and cold water set in.
"But now were seeing lots of different sizes, which tells us they're reproducing," said Ken Sulak, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey.
He said the tropical fish might be able to survive in the deep waters because, unlike shallower waters, temperatures remain relatively constant.
The fish are native to oceans around Southeast Asia and Australia. They were first noticed in 2000 by recreational scuba divers exploring wrecks off the North Carolina coast. A few more sightings were reported in 2001.
The first scientific proof of the foreign incursion was last year's mission to the deep coral reefs off the Carolina coast.
How the lionfish made it halfway around the world remains a mystery. One theory is that some fish were washed from a Miami aquarium into the warm South Atlantic waters by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Another is that cargo ships accidentally transported the lionfish when they took on ballast water in Asia, and then released it when they reached ports over here.