{"id":3837,"date":"2023-09-18T03:54:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T07:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/?p=3837"},"modified":"2024-08-28T15:25:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T19:25:03","slug":"can-we-use-deepwater-traps-to-catch-lionfish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/can-we-use-deepwater-traps-to-catch-lionfish\/","title":{"rendered":"Can We Use Deepwater Traps to Catch Lionfish?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Scientists compared how three different traps worked on the invasive species.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The invasive lionfish has been problematic to everyone ever since their introduction into the U.S. South Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico in recent years. With no natural predators in these waters, lionfish wreak havoc on both natural and artificial reefs by disrupting the aquatic food chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While research on lionfish has been extensive and has covered everything from identifying their preferred habitat to understanding what local fish they prefer to eat, most of the effort focuses on identifying how best to eradicate them \u2014 or least reduce their numbers so native fish can have a chance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news is that lionfish are great to eat, and anything that makes capturing lionfish easier is grounds for further study. There\u2019s likely a great opportunity to exploit this tasty finfish that\u2019s so popular with consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We know from recent research that targeted and consistent removals of lionfish from shallow reefs \u2014 those easily assessable to divers \u2014 have the potential to limit the fish\u2019s impacts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But what about deepwater reefs that lionfish frequent but divers can\u2019t easily get to? Is there a fish trap that might be effective? <\/p>\n\n\n\nResearch Need<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What did they study?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n