Episode 301: Alien Invaders

In the waters of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, a voracious alien predator has taken hold. Native to the Indo-Pacific, the invasive lionfish is a major threat to biodiversity and the health of already stressed coral reef ecosystems.

The popular aquarium fish is thought to have first been released into the wild in South Florida in the mid 1980s. With no natural predator in this part of the world, lionfish numbers have increased rapidly. Experts say that on some Bahamian reefs lionfish have reduced native fish populations by up to 90 percent in just a few years.

To combat this problem, experts are encouraging people to “eat’em to beat’em.” Changing Seas joins scientists in the field to learn more about this beautiful, yet gluttonous feeder and the threat it is posing to native fish populations.

Experts

Meet the experts featured in this episode.

Episode Photos

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Videographer and Editor Sean Hickey filming lionfish experts Stephanie Green (center) and Alecia Adamson (right) as they analyze the stomach contents of a lionfish.

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REEF Director of Operations Lad Akins demonstrates safe techniques for filleting lionfish.

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Changing Seas Videographer Sean Hickey (left) and Jeremy Nicholson (right) at the Cape Eleuthera Institute during filming of “Alien Invaders.”

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Students at the Cape Eleuthera Institute and The Island School.

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Experts and volunteers collect invasive lionfish near the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.

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A diver collects a lionfish, an invasive species within the Caribbean, for research purposes.

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Experts and volunteers collect lionfish from the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Lad Akins (left), Director of Operations at REEF.

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Divers in search of lionfish near Eleuthera, Bahamas.

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A wild lionfish displays its feather-like fins.

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Two lionfish can be seen near Eleuthera, Bahamas.

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Plastic bags help protect divers from the venomous spines of a lionfish.

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A small lionfish floats inside a plastic bag. Experts in the Bahamas are collecting this non-native species for studies on population growth and other issues.

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Spearfishing is one technique to collect lionfish.

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Spearfishing is one technique to collect lionfish.

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Director of Operations for REEF Lad Akins surveys a reef in the Bahamas in search of lionfish.

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Experts and volunteers with REEF transfer lionfish from collection nets to plastic dry bags.

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Scientists collect lionfish in the Bahamas for research on population growth and other ecological issues.

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Director of Operations for REEF Lad Akins collects lionfish and records data for species monitoring in the Bahamas.

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Producers Kandra Velez (left) and Alexa Elliott (right) at the Inaugural Lionfish Derby in Key Largo, Florida.

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The first boat arrives to compete in the Inaugural Lionfish Derby in Key Largo, Florida.

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REEF's Lad Akins measures and counts each lionfish that was collected for the Inaugural Lionfish Derby in Key Largo, Florida.

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Employees with the U.S. Geological Survey record lionfish data at the Inaugural Lionfish Derby in Key Largo, Florida.

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REEF's Lad Akins and Alecia Adamson award prizes to contestants of the Inaugural Lionfish Derby in Key Largo, Florida.

Image Credits:

Changing Seas would like to thank the following individuals and institutions who kindly allowed their footage, images and other media to be used in this production:

Lad Akins
Reef Environmental Education Foundation

U.S. Geological Survey

Special Thanks:

Waldo, Mask & Snorkel

Episode 301: Alien Invaders

Experts

Lad Akins

Stephanie Green

Alecia Adamson

William R. Blodgett, Ph.D.

Richard Oellers

Annabelle Oronti

Glenn Harrison

Image Credits:

Special Thanks:

Web Extras

Catching a Lion in the Keys

It's Lionfish and Panko Thyme!

Lionfish hunting a Damsel in Distress

Tour of the Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute

Filleting a Lionfish

Funding for this episode of Changing Seas was provided by: