St. Croix Divers Doing Their Part to Eradicate Lionfish

Lionfish

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As an avid Caribbean diver and snorkeler, I’ve known about the lionfish invasion going on across the region’s reefs for quite some time — contributing editor Bob Friel addressed the situation in our magazine’s pages in November 2008. For readers who’re unaware, the Pacific lionfish, while undeniably gorgeous, is an invasive species, with no natural predators on a Caribbean reef. How they first arrived in the Caribbean is still a matter of debate, but they began showing up en masse in the Bahamas in 2004 and have since made the journey throughout the region and into U.S waters as well. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, lionfish are now the second most populous fish on many deep reefs in North Carolina, and 85% of the juvenile fish on reefs in the Bahamas were lost due to lionfish predation within a five week period.

Lionfish first appeared in the USVI in November 2008, and the divers of St. Croix have decided to take a proactive approach to dealing with the predators. Says Molly Buckley, owner of St. Croix Ultimate Blue Water Adventures dive shop “These fish can decimate a Caribbean reef in just weeks. They eat non-stop and can lay up to 30,000 eggs several times per year. They are a huge threat to the Caribbean and we are trying to stop them while their population is manageable.” In collaboration with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, DNR, local dive shops and volunteers, the USVI has developed a plan to remove lionfish from its reefs. Local dive boats are supplied with lionfish markers, which volunteer divers drop wherever there is a lionfish sighting; a specially trained team returns later to the spot to remove the fish. If you’re a diver en route to St. Croix, here’s your chance to participate in the effort. Book the Caribbean Lionfish Safari package, offered by Christiansted Hotel Caravelle, and you’ll do lionfish sighting surveys on two separate dives during the week, marking their locations and joining the team on the weekly removal expedition. The four-day, three-night package, which includes four dives to search for lionfish, is $517 per person. Rates, based on double occupancy, are valid now through December 15, 2011, and include all taxes, service charge and a daily American breakfast at Hotel Caravelle. Happy hunting!

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