Lionfish

[AK74]

Anyone saw it in this country so far?

Venomous lionfish prowls fragile Caribbean waters - Yahoo! News

[fightfish]

I have seen lionfish while spearfishing on the northwest coast.

[mike l]

Originally Posted by fightfish

I have seen lionfish while spearfishing on the northwest coast.

Is it safe to swim in these waters then?

I know there are plenty of sharks but most of them seem to be on the beach!

[drtampa]

By DAVID McFADDEN
Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- A maroon-striped marauder with venomous spikes is rapidly multiplying in the Caribbean's warm waters, swallowing native species, stinging divers and generally wreaking havoc on an ecologically delicate region.

MERGED INTO EXISTING THREAD AND EDITED BY ENVIRONMENT FORUM MODERATOR FOR FOLLOWING REASONS:

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3. The article quoted is exactly the same as the one provided in the first post of this thread, therefore quite redundant.

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[ZEUS]

This bad boy is all over the Caribbean Islands.. Watch out

[Lapurr]

It's not as bad as the "Blown up Condom fish" scattered and floating in the ocean all along the Punta cana shores and reefs..really sad that is!

we thought they were jellyfish at first!! but nope!!

[fightfish]

Frommy experience, you would not encounter a lionfish wading on sandy bottom as they tend to hang out on reef or other structure. Stingrays and skates, especially in late spring during mating season, would be your primary threat, even though they are not venomous.

[Lambada]

National papers now have an article, like Hoy for example:
Pez venenoso en la costa norte del país - Hoy Digital

[AK74]

Originally Posted by fightfish

Frommy experience, you would not encounter a lionfish wading on sandy bottom as they tend to hang out on reef or other structure. Stingrays and skates, especially in late spring during mating season, would be your primary threat, even though they are not venomous.

My concern is not about threat to me, but to environment, wild life, fish stock. I am a die hard environmentalist, after each storm I clean our local small public beach for hours, removing trash. People look at me like carazy. Nobody moves butt to clean garbage around him/her. They call themselves "civilized". For this reason I hate tourists so much. A very ugly human breed.

[Lapurr]

Originally Posted by AK74

My concern is not about threat to me, but to environment, wild life, fish stock. I am a die hard environmentalist, after each storm I clean our local small public beach for hours, removing trash. People look at me like carazy. Nobody moves butt to clean garbage around him/her. They call themselves "civilized". For this reason I hate tourists so much. A very ugly human breed.

Hate is a strong word...and make sure you dont "group" all tourists in the same category...we are not all the same!!gre: