Highly predatorial, venomous, vivacious and possessing the ability to replicate in large quantities within a relatively short period of time, the lionfish can pose a very "serious" ecological and human threat if they were to migrate to the territorial waters of T&T. The disclosure was made by Dr Kenny Broad, an associate professor in the Division of Marine Affairs and Policy at the University of Miami, during an interview with the Sunday Guardian. "The bottom line is that the lionfish (an Indo-Pacific species) has no natural predators so they can replicate rather conformably in large quantities. "They are also pretty vivacious predators of economically important species and can become a hazard for divers since their spikes are venomous," he said.
Broad, who is in T&T for RBC Royal Bank's Blue Water Project, formed part of a panel discussion (forum) on water innovation, hosted in collaboration with National Geographic, at the Hilton Trinidad Hotel on Wednesday. "I think the invasive species in general are a major problem particularly in small island states (like the Bahamas) where countries rely a lot on their natural resources," he said. Broad added that while the venom of the lionfish tended to be "extremely painful" with a tendency to cause "extreme allergic reactions," the likelihood of death was not common in the case of humans. "The main problem is that they (lionfish) are changing the ecosystem rapidly (because of their predatorial nature)," he said.
'They are tasty to eat'
The one redeeming factor, according to Broad, is that they are a popular cuisine and as such, may hold prospects for commercial benefits. Broad said: "One glimmer of hope is that they are tasty to eat, and presents the opportunity to create a very tasty, mild wildfish that many people like a lot. If you can put commercial fisheries on invasive species it's kind of a win/win type of situation." Fellow panellist and National Geographic explorer Alexandra Cousteau echoed Broad's sentiment when she advised: "Put them on the menu and encourage the right kind of over-fishing." When contacted on Friday, (Tobago) Secretary of Agriculture, Marine Affairs and the Environment Hilton Sandy re-confirmed that there was "no sign or alarm of the lionfish in T&T" but that the situation will continue to be monitored closely as migratory patterns have been cited in Belize.