Wanted dead or alive – that is the bounty the Fisheries Department put on the head of the predatory lionfish after it was sighted in Belize earlier this year. Well today in San Pedro they found a live one. It is not the first lionfish captured but it is big news and a cause for major worry because of where it was found. This one wasn’t found on the bottom of the sea - it was found on a beach at the Xaman Ek Resort and Spa. 7News traveled to San Pedro to see it for ourselves and Keith Swift has the story.

Keith Swift Reporting,
This is a real live lionfish. It is safely swimming in the confines of an aquarium now but it was captured from shallow waters near a beach north of San Pedro.

Miguel Alamilla, Manager - Hol Chan Marine Reserve: “It was on the seagrass bed close to a dock, one of the docking facilities for the resort and we had had reports of lionfish being sighted and one was sighted in Turneffe and this is the only specimen that is closer to shore on the sea grass bed.”

Keith Swift,
What does that tell you?

Miguel Alamilla,
“Well it can be somewhat worrisome.”
Worrisome because as impressive as it looks, the lionfish’s red and white zebra stripes and its long pectoral fins are all signs of just how dangerous this fish is.

Miguel Alamilla,
“They are poisonous, they carry a poison and you need to exercise extreme caution when you approach them. The poison, it is a heavy sting and it is going to hurt for a couple of days.”

Kirah Forman, Marine Biologist – Hol Chan Marine Reserve
“Well they are not native to this area, they are pacific fish and of the things is their feeding behaviour. They are very aggressive feeders so they tend to eat and eat and eat a lot. You see the size of that one, it is not very big so that would normally prey on the smaller juvenile fishes. They only grow to about 10 to 14 inches so the bigger they get they tend to feed on juveniles mainly and we don’t want that cause we need the juveniles to repopulate our adult population of fish.”

Miguel Alamilla,
“They feed on juvenile fish species throughout the reef so that could be a problem to our reef system in the country.” The captured lionfish is being kept alive and on display at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve’s office in San Pedro Town where it has attracted a stream of onlookers – both in awe of its appearance and aware of the danger it poses.

Man #1,
“It is really amazing right but I have learnt it is kind of dangerous but it is really incredible how it reached way to Belize so I think it is really amazing. It doesn’t look dangerous but it says that it is dangerous.”

Man #2,
“I didn’t expect it to look like that. I didn’t expect it to be so big and thing with the wings; that doesn’t look like fins, that looks like wings.”

Man #3
“I mi think it would look different. I think it would look bigger but it is small.” But it is no longer a possibility- it is a reality that more lionfish just like this one – are out there – and might be swimming in a body of water near you.

Keith Swift,
So there may be a lot of these little lionfish swimming around?

Kirah Forman,
“Well we are suspecting that there are because of the frequency with which they are being found at this point. So we suspect that there are but we can’t really say.”

Miguel Alamilla,
“Our intention is to keep it here on display for fishermen, tour guides, and the community to come and observe the fish so that they know what it looks like and when they spot one out there, they could bring it in dead or alive because we have had reports from the Fisheries Department that some fishermen have been bringing in the scorpion fish which is a similar species to that.”

Keith Swift,
What should someone do if they come across a lionfish?

Miguel Alamilla,
“Well what has been recommended by the Fisheries Department is to, if you can, try to capture it dead or alive.” Reporting for 7News from San Pedro, I am Keith Swift.

The first lionfish was an adult captured two weeks ago by a diver near the Turneffe Atoll. That died shortly after since it was brought up from the bottom of the sea. Today’s catch is expected to live since it was captured to shore. That again is most worrying since a juvenile lionfish near to shore means there is an adult around and possibly other juveniles.