As Eric Billips reaches the bottom of the reef, 90 feet down, he spots a cloud of minnows around a coral head, and as expected, finds half a dozen lionfish lurking nearby. They’re beautiful, hovering like little resplendent flowers. But they’re dangerous, housing 18 venomous spines that repel predators. Billips is able to spear three before the others scoot off and hopes to kill lots more. An invasive species from the Indo-Pacific, lionfish have no natural enemies in the Atlantic and have spread throughout the Caribbean, including the Florida Keys, decimating juvenile fish populations since arriving in our waters. “They’re a voracious predator and eat a wide variety of fish, including...
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