Fosters Food Fair Lionfish Hunts 

With the assistance of Fosters Food Fair, the CITA watersports operators are tackling the invasive Led lionfish with a vengeance. Dozens of lionfish are removed from Cayman’s reefs on each culling dive, helping to keep the population of this species in check. The lionfish then make their way to Fosters Food Fair, where members of the public can buy the fish fresh at the seafood counter and taste for themselves how delicious lionfish can be! A portion of the monies received from the sale of the lionfish at the Fosters locations will go back into supporting more lionfish culling dives.

WEEKLY/MONTHLY CALENDAR of upcoming hunts

CITA Restaurants in Grand Cayman Serving Lionfish: 

Not ready to try your hand at cooking lionfish just yet? No worries! These great CITA member restaurants will do it for you! Visit them today and try their version of fresh lionfish.

Michael's Genuine phone # 345.640.6433  (www.michaelsgenuine.com/grand-cayman) 

Cobalt Coast phone # 345.946.5656  (www.cobaltcoast.com)

TUKKA phone # 345.947.2700   (www.tukka.ky)

Guy Harvey’s Grill phone #345.946.9000 (www.guyharveysgrill.com/)

Buy your fresh lionfish at Fosters Food Fair seafood departments, and taste why this fish is a delicious—and sustainable—seafood choice!

http://www.tasteofcayman.org/food-drink/cayman-recipes/

PRESS RELEASE:

FOSTERS FOOD FAIR LIONFISH HUNTS TURNS UP THE HEAT ON AN INVASIVE MARINE FISH

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. – Fosters Food Fair heard about the invasive Red Lionfish
problem and contacted CITA to lend their support.  Thanks to the programme where 5-cents
is collected for every plastic bag sold in the Fosters stores, the company has generously
provided a grant of CI $20,000 to CITA to help cull lionfish from the reefs. This effort was
designed as a community based solution to the lionfish problem, where everyone can
assist—from participating in the dives to buying the lionfish at the grocery store. For CITA,
this was a great opportunity, as the non-profit organization already has a significant focus
on the lionfish invasion through their watersports sector.

Participating CITA watersports members offer lionfish culling dives almost every weekend.
Interested divers can register with the dive shops directly.

Participants go out on a two-tank dive to cull lionfish, which are then
cleaned and delivered to the fish market at Foster’s Food Fair on Monday morning. Lionfish
filet is light, delicately flavored and reportedly very good eating. Fosters Food Fair is hoping
their Monday lionfish catch will be popular with local cooks. Even now, shoppers can
purchase fresh lionfish in the seafood department at Fosters Food Fair stores.

‘By offering these dedicated dives to remove lionfish on a regular basis, we are not only
protecting our marine environment, but one can argue that we are protecting our tourism
industry as well,’ states Jane van der Bol, Executive Director for CITA. ‘It is well documented
that most tourist arrive to our shores to enjoy the beautiful natural environment that our
island and surrounding waters offer. CITA and our watersports operators are excited to be a
partner with Fosters to help keep our tourism product as healthy and vibrant as possible!’.

Originally from the Pacific Ocean and popular as aquarium fish, lionfish are colorful with
venomous spikey tentacles. First spotted in Florida waters in 1985, the population of the
voracious predator has exploded in recent years and spread throughout the Caribbean. To
control this marine pest, conservation groups are encouraging fishermen and divers to catch
lionfish and eat them.  A lionfish cookbook featuring 45 recipes is now available.

Lionfish arrived in Cayman waters about three years ago (2008) and they continue to multiply and threaten
smaller reef fish. If someone is interested in participating, but is not licensed to cull lionfish through the
Department of the Environment, they can still register.  Lionfish “spotters” are also needed
on board the dive boats. Protecting and preserving the beautiful coral reefs from the
invasive lionfish is an effort that everyone can participate in.

Are Lionfish venomous?

1. Scorpion fishes get their common name from their ability to defend themselves with a venomous “sting” or stab.

2. Thirteen of the long dorsal spines, two pelvic and three of the anal spines are venomous, with the venom being produced by glands located in grooves on the spines covered with skin.

3. Lionfish have venomous spines from birth and these spines are used by the Lionfish both to capture their prey and deter predators.

What are the hunting methods of the Red Lionfish and what is the prey?

1. Given the tendency of the Lionfish to retreat to areas of hiding by day, this species was thought to be mostly nocturnal. However, recent studies have now shown that Lionfish have been observed feeding during the day.
2. Hunting behaviour includes the Lionfish hiding in unexposed places during the day, with its head down practically immobile, to stalking and cornering its prey by use of the outstretched and expanded pectoral fins when in full ambush mode. Lionfish prey is ultimately obtained with a lightning-quick snap of the jaws and swallowed whole.
3. The Lionfish is an undiscerning predator of small fish, shrimps, crabs and similarly sized animals and research has shown that of analyzed stomach contents, 70% was comprised of fish and 30% were crustaceans. Cannibalism has also been observed for this species in the wild as well as in captivity.
4. The most abundantly found prey in the Lionfish stomachs included basslets, shrimp and gobies and other cleaner fish. Other stomach contents included whole crabs, whole sand divers, jawfish with the eggs still in its mouth, and even juvenile groupers.
5. When consuming a large meal the Lionfish is capable of expanding its stomach over 30 times in volume, it is also capable of long term fasting and can go without food for periods of over 12 weeks without dying.
6. In its native range the Lionfish consumes 2.5% - 6% of its body weight per day.

What is the morphology and lifespan of Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans)?

1. The body is white or cream colored with red to reddish brown vertical stripes with the stripes alternating from wide to very thin and sometimes even merging along the flank to form a V.
2. The Lionfish has elongated venomous dorsal and anal fin spines. There are 13 dorsal spines, 10 to 11 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, 6 to 7 anal soft rays and 2 pelvic spines. The fin membranes are often spotted or have small holes.
3. In their natural habitat they are commonly found to be between 320mm – 350mm/12.6 -13.8 inches in size, but they have been found as big as 474mm/18.7 inches.
4. In recent research conducted by REEF of non-native Lionfish, the average size found was 188mm/7.4 inches with the size range 25mm – 389mm/1 - 15.3 inches.
5. The largest Pterois Volitans / Red Lionfish specimen collected on the U.S. east coast, caught via hook and line off North Carolina in 2004, was over 430 mm/16.9 inches long and weighed approximately 1.1 kg/2.4 pounds.
6. The lifespan in the wild is up to 15 years, but as yet the lifespan in non-native waters has not been determined.

What is the habitat preference and behavior of Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans)?

1. Lionfish exhibit high site fidelity, i.e. they do not move much, and they are commonly seen in a nearly motionless posture with the head tilted slightly down.
2. Lionfish have been sighted in a wide variety of habitat types including; artificial sites, canals, harbors, estuaries, mangroves and shallow and deep reefs. From observations they appear to be at home and fully adapted to all these differing habitats.
3. Lionfish have been observed in water as cold as 13°C/56°F off the southern coast of Long Island, New York and as warm as 27°C/81°F in areas such as Turks and Caicos Islands, showing a tolerance to a wide range of temperatures.
4. It has been revealed that Lionfish stop feeding at temperatures of 16°C/61°F and below and that the average lethal low temperature is 10°C/50°F.
5. Lionfish are now being found in a large depth range from 0.6 metres/2 feet to 175 metres/574 feet, well beyond recreational dive depth limits.

What are the reproduction and growth facts of Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) ?

1. As juveniles Lionfish live in small groups, but as adults they typically occur alone with individuals being relatively inactive during the day, typically sheltering in reef crevices.
2. Lionfish are reaching sexual maturity and reproducing as young as one to two years old and data collected to date (REEF) suggests that the Lionfish appear to be reproducing year round in Bahamian and other Caribbean waters.
3. As stated, Lionfish are generally solitary fish but during courtship males will aggregate with multiple females to form groups of three to eight fish, with the males using their spines and fins in an aggressive visual display.
4. Following complex courting and mating behaviors, the females release a pair of mucus coated clusters of eggs approximately every 30 days, which are then fertilized by the males. On average, these clusters contain between 2,000 and 15,000 eggs, although this number can be as high as 30,000 eggs.
5. The eggs are then freed by environmental micro bacteria, which break down the egg mass.
6. The larvae hatch after approximately four days and become competent swimmers two to three days after that. At this stage in their development Lionfish are already able to capture and consume ciliates and other small zooplankton.
7. The larvae metamorphose into adults at approximately 10-12 mm/0.4 – 0.5 inches in size, which is in the range of 20-40 days. The time period it takes Lionfish to reach their adult stage is long enough for eggs released in the Caribbean, i.e. Cuba, Jamaica or the Cayman Islands to disperse into the Gulf of Mexico.