Miami Fishing News: Woody Foundation 5th Annual Lionfish Bash
After 4 years in Bimini, Bahamas the 5th Annual Lionfish Bash has moved home to the waters of Coconut Grove, FL.
The Woody Foundation hosted their fifth annual Lionfish Bash fishing tournament in Coconut Grove on July 25th. The main purpose for the Lionfish Bash is to raise funds and awareness for the spinal cord injured community as well as Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital.
The Lionfish Bash tournament is a family event hosted in Coconut Grove and our aim is to clean up the reefs by getting rid of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish. This species has made a new home all over South Florida. Over the past three years, the Lionfish Bash has removed more than 1,200 lionfish from the waters and reefs, while it has also raised more than $70,000 for The Woody Foundation.
Here’s the timeline of events for the weekend:
Captain’s Meeting: 6-8pm at Fritz & Franz- 60 Merrick Way, Coral Gables
Diving: Sunrise-4pm, All over Biscayne Bay
Weigh in: 3pm-4pm at Biscayne Bay Yacht Club- 2540 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove
Cocktail Hour: starts at 7pm, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club
Awards Dinner: starts at 8pm, Biscayne Bay Yacht
Awards Dinner afterparty: 11pm, Location: all over Miami
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Yes. Non-native lionfish are a terrible problem in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and in the Gulf of Mexico, however they are not a problem in their native ranges of the Indian Ocean, Southern and Western Pacific Ocean and in the Red Sea. The world is still waiting to see how bad the problem with non-native lionfish in the Mediterranean is going to get; it is a relatively “new” invasion that is only just really beginning to develop.
One thing is for certain, the lionfish invasion is probably the worst man-made ecological disaster ever witnessed and it has yet to completely play itself out.
Lionfish are potentially the fastest breeders in the Western Atlantic Basin.
In favorable conditions female lionfish can release egg masses approximately every 4 days, up to 2 million eggs a year. Lionfish larvae have an incredibly high “recruitment rate” to suitable habitat, meaning that potentially more eggs become larvae, which then become juvenile lionfish settled somewhere that they can grow and live relatively free from environmental pressure. (To put it another way: Lionfish breed faster than rabbits and most of them find good homes with plenty of food.) Lionfish are sexually mature reach 1 year of age and can live well beyond 15 years. There are aquarium owners who have reported having a lionfish live to 20 years old.
Lionfish can eat prey over half the size of their own body as long as it will fit into their mouths. Their stomach can expand up to 30 times the normal volume and a lionfish will fill up to capacity as soon as it is able. Lionfish are not picky eaters and feed indiscriminately. Scientists have cataloged over 70 different species that lionfish will eat through stomach content analysis. In addition to the fish they eat, they also eat invertebrates and mollusks – shrimp, crabs, juvenile octopus, squid, juvenile lobster, sea horses, etc.
The native species that invasive lionfish are feeding upon do not recognize lionfish as a predator and flee. In fact, just the opposite has been shown to be true. Small fish will often congregate around a lionfish, most likely believing that the lionfish’s long spines, fin rays and feathery pectoral fins offer them shelter and protection from predators. However, when the lionfish is ready to eat, these fish are herded into alcoves where they cannot escape. Lionfish use lighting fasts strikes and gulp down dozens of whole fish at a time. Science has demonstrated that a single lionfish can reduce native marine creatures by 80% to 90% in its range within just 5 weeks.
The native marine species that lionfish are decimating are important for ecological, commercial, traditional and recreational reasons.
Ecologically important species include the “grazers” and the “cleaners” that maintain the health of the reef and the health of other fish.
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