I'm just curious, what eats lionfish in the wild? How do predators avoid the venom?
Do Lionfish have any natural predators?
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Subsea
7500 Club Member
Yes, lionfish have natural predators in the IndoPacific on the wild reef: groupers & sharks,
In the Atlantic & Caribbean, lionfish are an invasive species. I have caught them on fishing line as far North as Montaigne Point at the end of Long Island.
In the Atlantic & Caribbean, lionfish are an invasive species. I have caught them on fishing line as far North as Montaigne Point at the end of Long Island.
OP
OP
Wow! I'm originally from Florida, so I'm familiar with them on the reefs but had no idea they had such a wide range. So groupers and sharks are either immune to the toxins or somehow avoid the puncture.
Subsea
7500 Club Member
In a recent NetGeo documentary, predatation of lionfish was first observed on Caribbean reefs by similar predators from IndoPacific. However, it is a learned behavior that is not widespread YET. Large predators avoid puncture by swallowing lionfish head first.
Florida Wildlife & Fisheries has allowed unrestricted spearfishing of lionfish and encouraged their harvesting as a desirable seafood.
I have caught large lionfish and initially used them for cut bait but later found them excellent for consumption
In the Caribbean spear fishermen tried to train sharks and grouper how to eat the lionfish, and they did indeed learn to eat them. However, it backfired somewhat. While the predators learned they could eat lionfish, they didn't learn to hunt them. Instead they just learned that divers will feed them, so now they follow them around.
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