Oh boy, this is all we need

[DonV]

Never thought I would see this!!! This guy is just a few blocks from me!!

http://tbo.com/news/politics/invasiv...-bay-20141019/

[SteveH]

Funny, I just got done reading that article in the Tribune and then opened up this thread. The last thing we need is another predator for snapper and grouper...

[Terry England]

I saw them in 78' of water off of Passagrille this weekend and in 70' of water off of Egmont Key a month ago. Punched 5/16" holes through 'em with my Stainless Steel rubber band powered Iron Worker.

However I did see a lot of 5" long Yellow Tail Snappers (not schoolmasters) on a ledge in 60'. Too small to travel here from the Keys or Tortugas. Must have been born here. If no Freezes or Red Tides they might get to "flag size" in a few years - another problem of "Climate Change" too many tropical fish moving north into the Gulf. Get Al Gore on the line - "I was for it before I was against it" - oh sorry, John Kerry. It's so easy to get 'em mixed up!

[bigeasy1]

Theses nasty invaders even infect the salt now.
It's Too bad they are so difficult to catch,because of their ability to hide in coral.
Maybe if more and more people find out how tasty they are,it will put a minor dent in their populations,although I'm probably dreaming.

We've had our share of invaders enter the great lakes,from Alewives,( a good invader for us anyway)Zebra mussels,Quagga mussels,Spiny and Fish hook water fleas,to European Gobies.
All of them entered the great lakes in ballast water from ocean going freighters from Asia,and They, in many cases, have made our fishing difficult.
The mussels have filtered out so much of the microscopic plankton,that you can see the down rigger weights 60' down.That makes us have to use heavier mono line so that they cant attach themselves to it.
The mussels also cover and rapidly infest rocky spawning areas,hull bottoms,and water intakes to industrial and agriculture operations.
The Gobies have taken over the areas where smaller fish like perch congregated and spawned,and are now feeding on the eggs of the perch and other prey species(Less prey less king salmon and trout),and less eggs,less food for the bait species like the Alewives,that make our salmon fishery so spectacular.

So far we've managed to hold up with good fishing,but if it swings too much the wrong way,and we lose our massive populations of prey like Alewives We will see some bad things happen,to the phenomenal Salmon fishery we have.

Good luck with the Lion fish guys,hopefully some predator will develop a taste for them,to help reduce populations of them.Keep on spreading the message of how very good eating they are.Every little thing helps.