Lion Hunting

Last week we received news that there had been two seperate sightings of Lion Fish (an invasive species that consumes most fish and has no natural predators here), one on the French side of the island and one on our side. All the dive shops had been asked to be on the lookout and capture it if possible. The French side had caught theirs within 24 hours and, not to be outdone, the Ducth side put together a team to try and capture the Lion Fish.

I ended up diving with one of the Marine Protection Officer's today. Tadzio and I found the fish, later names Marten, and, after fourty-seven long miutes of an aggressive hunt, finally managed to capture it. Lion Fish have venom in their spines that is so poisonous it feels worse then being shot (I was told this AFTER I helped catch it).

We are on a small island and this is big news for us, Lion Fish are a huge threat to our ecosystem here. As a result Tadzio had an article put in the local papers and he mentioned me, kinda cool! If you would like to read the article the link is

http://www.sxmislandtime.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11298:nature-foundation-staff-capture-venomous-lionfish-will-be-holding-an-information-session-on-wednesday&catid=31:general&Itemid=76

This article appeared on page four of The Daily Herold and page three of The Times...can you tell it's a small island?