I looked Him in His Fishy Eye and said , Go Home - but he didn't go.
By cynthiann
@cynthiann (18602)
Jamaica
August 5, 2009 5:17pm CST
I received a report last week about Lion Fish being seen in our beach cove. So I googled it and became an instant expert on Lion Fish. I found out that they come from the Pacific and Indian Oceans but are now breeding like crazy in teh Caribbean Sea.
Evidently an aquarium got smashed in Florida in 1992 during Hurricane Allen and voracious eating fish with spikes on its back that could really put you in a lot of pain are now in the Caribbean.
This morning, a local fisherman caught one and my gardeners (I showed them a picture online) called for me to see it.
So I frolicked down to the beach and here it was. 
A five pounder and I took photos but have not yet learnt how to put photos from my BB onto Mylot.
Go home, I said. We have enough trouble without you gobbling up all our little fish. Go back to your own sea. We were eyball to eyeball but would he here? Have you ever seen one of these? Am going to send the photo to my friends and perhaps they can upload the photo or do something clever with it.
So the fishy didn't even end up in a dishy!
The end result was that an owner said that our environmental people were worried about them so he put it into a huge zip lock bag and froze it. They want to see what was in his stomach to find out what other fish they are killing off.
This morning, a local fisherman caught one and my gardeners (I showed them a picture online) called for me to see it.
So I frolicked down to the beach and here it was. A five pounder and I took photos but have not yet learnt how to put photos from my BB onto Mylot.
Go home, I said. We have enough trouble without you gobbling up all our little fish. Go back to your own sea. We were eyball to eyeball but would he here? Have you ever seen one of these? Am going to send the photo to my friends and perhaps they can upload the photo or do something clever with it.
So the fishy didn't even end up in a dishy!
The end result was that an owner said that our environmental people were worried about them so he put it into a huge zip lock bag and froze it. They want to see what was in his stomach to find out what other fish they are killing off.5 people like this
13 responses
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
6 Aug 09
I never met a ugly , mean looking fish like that & i'm sure glad i haven't. That's a shame they have ended up by u. What a wierd way for them to have gotten there.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
6 Aug 09
IT SURE IS SOMETHING. i THINK HE IS ONE OF THE UGLIEST THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN. tHANKS FOR THE PICTURE, HUGS TO U TODAY, LADY.Hope u are enjoying your holiday.
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
Isn't it something? a hurricane smashed the sea wate aquarium. Make syou wonder doesn't it? Glad that I could show you what it looked like
2 people like this
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
6 Aug 09
You will have to send me that picture of the fish and I will post it here for you. I am looking up what it looks like now. I have never seen one of them before.
That is a creepy looking fish. It says on National Geographic's website that they can live up to 15 years. They don't get all that big though I guess.
2 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
I sent it ot you this morning and now the whole of Mylot is waiting with baited breath to see if you can up;load it for me. LOL Yeh, right! The one I saw was about five pounds and mayber a foot long.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
6 Aug 09
It was so sad that a hurricane smashed into the aquarium in 1992 and all the fish came out into the sea. They must have breed and therefore multiplied in number. It must have been fascinating to see the lion fish. He or she couldn't swim all the way back to the Pacific Ocean and was happily living in the Caribbean Sea. It was awful that he or she got put in a bag and frozen therefore killing him or her. I am am animal lover. I know that when creatures from other lands go to a new habitat that can be problematic to the environment like rabbits to Australia and possums to New Zealand for example.
2 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
I love all creatures too but this one is eating up t5he fish that are indigenous to us and it is a great threat to the Caribbean
1 person likes this
@mcelhenney (481)
• United States
6 Aug 09
I have never seen one of these fish except in an aquarium of some sort, never in the waters. I think it is horrible that the aquarium broke and now they are loose on the waters to reek havoc in warmer waters.
I went to national geographic and found this,
oh no, I forgot that I'm here under my mothers name and she can not copy and paste yet...it said they eat mostly shrimp and something else. I'm sorry that I could not show you. They also don't kill humans with their venom but it hurts like crazy if you are in contact with their 18 places of contact that has the venom.
I hope they figure out what to do about the lionfish in your waters.
2 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
This is why it was frozen to be sent to our environmental agency. They need to know exactly what they are killing in the Caribbean Sea. It is causing much concern out here. They are breeding like crazy too.
1 person likes this
@anniefannie (1737)
• United States
6 Aug 09
maybe you didn't hold your mouth right when you told that fish to go home lol i have never of that fish but i don't know much about any fish
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
I don't know much either. I sent the photo to antique lady so she will probably pass it on to you
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
6 Aug 09
Isn't that just how it goes? The preditors are everywhere these days...our lakes here in Minnesota are now being filled with some nasty mullusks...they cling to boats and travel from lake to lake infecting them....I think they fish are nasty....at least it sounds like it....stay out of the water! Does it hurt like when you step on coral? I bet it does!
2 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
a mylot friend is going to upload it for me. I sent it to her. The problem is that they are inot indigenous to the Caribbean and they are gobbling up many species of our fish
1 person likes this
@tjades (3591)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
I vaguely remember hearing about those fish and how they got here. I wouldnt want one single thing to come here and spoil our beaches and the wonderful experiences we have there.
I hope that fish heeded your warning and sent out a quick message to all his companions. I am answering from my inbox so I do not know if you ot through with the picture. I hope you have as Id really like to see it.
@tjades (3591)
• Jamaica
7 Aug 09
Actually its now Belated Indepence and Happy Emancipation 
.
Im a culture enthusiaste so I absolutely love this time of year with the festival songs and all.
If that is the thing in the photo that Lillybug uploaded we are in serious trouble. I doubt anything that ugly could be harmless. Wouldnt it be just our cursed luck to have that thing invade our waters now or ever.
I certainly hope something can be done to rid our waters of it. If it has NEPA on the alert it certainly spells no good news for us.
.
Im a culture enthusiaste so I absolutely love this time of year with the festival songs and all.
If that is the thing in the photo that Lillybug uploaded we are in serious trouble. I doubt anything that ugly could be harmless. Wouldnt it be just our cursed luck to have that thing invade our waters now or ever.
I certainly hope something can be done to rid our waters of it. If it has NEPA on the alert it certainly spells no good news for us.@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
Happy Independence Day! Of course, my boss has me at work even though it is a public holiday and I do not get paid double either! A friend is going to upload the photo for me. A mylot friend too. I am, so happy that she is doing this for me. We need this fish like a hole in the head. NEPA is very concerned.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
6 Aug 09
I've seen them in aquariums. The one in LA has an exhibit on poisonous fish and other ocean critters. Yep, go back to your own sea.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
I think that maybe they would listen to you - so come on down and tell them in a no nonsense voice that they are to go back! Hope that you are doing o.k. today. Glad that the procedure went o.k. too. Thinks a profound thought: There are 14 in the cove so why don't I just go down and yell to tell them that Dawn is coming!
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
6 Aug 09
Wow! I have never seen one of these but hope that someone can upload it for you soon. You may try looking on the website of your cell phone provider, they may be able to help you figure out how to upload it to your computer and thus to mylot after that!
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
Thanks for the information. My son says that he is going to teach me but I may have to wait until hell freezes over before that happens.! lol I really want to learn. One mylotter is trying to get it up for me. You can always send me a pm with your email address and I will send it to you - along with family photos of my grand babies that will be leaving on Saturday!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Aug 09
I've never heard of such a fish. How interesting! You have some pretty amazing stories, that's forsure.
2 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
And now you know what it looks like too! lol
1 person likes this
@cyrus123 (6363)
• United States
6 Aug 09
No, I have never seen a fish like this. It might be because I live in the states, though. I don't live anywhere near the ocean, in other words. I saw some sharks one time when I went to Florida. My parents, oldest nephew, and I went to Marineland in Daytona Beach one time and we saw some sharks there. They were big and scary looking! I remember being shocked at how big they were!
I can't wait to see the pictures of these fish. I'd like to know what they look like. Kathy.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
A mylot friend is going to try and upload it for me. If you want to see my photos you would have to send me a pm with your email address
1 person likes this
@cobra1368 (702)
• United States
6 Aug 09
I have seen lion fish before, but not in the wild, only in captivity. A friend of mine had one in an aquarium.
Given that it escaped from somewhere in Florida, that doesn't surprise me. Florida is doing a great job of screwing up their own wildlife, not to mention the rest of the world's!
If I were a biologist working down there, I would be worried about the damage they are doing too. That fish will be hard to get rid of, if there is an established population there already. Given that you said the fish escaped to the Caribbean just after the 1992 hurricane tells me that a population is established. They have filled a niche that had not previously been filled.
I hope the biologists can figure something out before it is too late!
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
6 Aug 09
They are now a huge population of may be hundreds of thousand and breeding like crazy. They are upsetting our environment by eating species of fish that are indigenous to our waters. It is a mega threat and I don't know what the Caribbean can do about it as we do not have the resources. This is why the fish was frozen so that our scientists can see what species they are killing off down here.
@cobra1368 (702)
• United States
6 Aug 09
That sucks, girl! Once a species like that gets in, it is devastating for native populations! I'm curious to see what species of fish it is eating.
Florida is having some trouble with an Asian swamp eel in the Everglades. Apparently it will eat anything that crosses its path, and it can live out of water!
1 person likes this
