Dear Friends and Colleagues
We have recently produced a public service announcement about the
Lionfish Invasion. It's a product of the nonprofit ShiftingBaselines
Media Campaign that combines the best of Hollywood and Science to
address ocean decline. Enjoy, and we look forward to your comments.
Already, a discussion has developed about what to tell the public, from
our approach (see below) to the broader approach of trying to advance
the importance of ecoystem-based management to increase the numbers and
sizes of potential predators. We believe that each approach is
necessary but not sufficient. We need to do it all.
As many of you may already know, lionfish have invaded coral reefs in
Florida, the Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. They were accidentally
introduced in the late 1980s to early 1990s around Miami from the
Pacific Ocean. Their numbers have skyrocketed. The problem? They eat the
juveniles of coral reef fish and compete with economically important
snappers and groupers.
But there is some good news. They are great to eat! A real delicacy. The
solution? Pick up a speargun or grab a collecting net. Just watch out
for their venomous spines.
TO LEARN MORE about the removal of lionfish, recipes, and to view the
new Public Service Announcement, visit: www.facebook.com/deathtolionfish
(like us and forward to all your friends) or our website at
www.deathtolionfish.org.
Thank you.
Steven Miller, PhD
Research Professor
UNC at Wilmington
(and Executive Producer of the Lionfish PSA)
