Unfortunate visitor

Our unfortunate visitor comes to us compliments of probably a hurricane.

Or as it?

Many people think hurricane Andrew introduced them to the Atlantic.

A Scientist even wrote a paper stating that they were released from a private aquarium during the storm.

Andrew was 1992.

The first lionfish was caught in Dania, Florida north of Miami in 1985.

Kinda makes you think.....

There may have also been some releases from people discovering 

that they would eat everything else in their tank!

I know my dad threw ours into the garbage after it ate something in our tank in the Philippines.

There may have been some in the ballasts of oceangoing vessels 

releasing their home water into new territory.

Anyway, they seem to be here to stay.

They have no known predators.

They are the apex in the ocean.

However, not on land.

We can eat them after the spines are removed.

I've heard they are a delicate whitefish.

Nothing in the ocean wants to eat them apparently because of the spines.

They are venomous, but not lethal, at least not to us.

Their spines on their back will cause a very painful sting, akin to a bee or wasp.

Divers are having some fun removing spines and feeding them to sharks to convince them they are tasty.

When we travel, we look for lionfish on the menu.

Invariably, they are sold out!

I have yet to try one.

Lionfish are a problem because they eat the tiny gamefish just as they are starting to grow.

Their stomach can expand up to 30 times!

They also have extremely large mouths for their size, 

allowing them to eat something larger than you would think.

There is another problem, the females can lay up to 2 million eggs every year!

Now there's a real problem.

Divers can also clean a reef off of all the lionfish they see.

But they will be back the next day as they can swim deeper than we can.

Unfortunate visitor, Acrylic on wood, 12 inches

Day 19 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025

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