was stung, his palm turned crimson and ballooned. “The pain was so severe, I wanted to cut my hand off,” he said. A fisherman on Great Exuma confessed to crying like a baby. The stings can reportedly cause nausea, breathing dif- ficulties, convulsions, and paralysis. When I am finally face-to-face with


a lionfish, it is spectacularly beautiful, its body glistening with red, white, and gold stripes, and its delicate, wispy fins swaying and fluttering hypnotically in


to two-thirds of their own length. As we speed over the tranquil waters of Exuma Sound, I ask him if he’s optimis- tic about controlling the invasion. “You saw the way those things are vac uuming the reefs of native fish,” he answers. “I’m afraid I’m a pessimist. But we haven’t lost yet.” Scores of scientists, government officials and others are rac- ing to come up with a solution for the lionfish invasion. But at the moment, the fish are winning.


In one strike the lionfish lunges at the wrasse and


the gentle current. An arm’s length away—as close as I dare to go—it shows no fear, eerily staring me right in the eye. I’m almost tempted to reach out and touch it—except for the 18 cam- ouflaged dorsal, pelvic and anal spines, each of which is armed with a pair of powerful venom glands. Suddenly, the fish darts away and


reveals its true nature. I marvel as it spreads its fins to mesmerise a small wrasse. Slowly, it backs the fish against the reef. Then in one lightning-fast strike, the lionfish lunges at the wrasse and sucks it into its mouth, swallowing it whole. Now I understand what re- searchers mean when they call the lionfish the perfect eating machine. After Hixon captures the fish, we


return to the boat, and he tells me that lionfish have been seen eating fish up


Back at the Perry In-


sucks it into his mouth, swallowing it whole


stitute, I meet Paul Sikkel, an Arkansas State Uni- versity marine parasi- tologist who is spending much of his summer dis- secting specimens, look- ing for “any chink in their


armour”. The more parasites, the more vulnerable the fish may be. But as he peers into a microscope at some lionfish gill tissue, he exclaims, “I cannot believe this. These are the cleanest fish I’ve ever seen. I’m seeing no parasites!” Lionfish 1, Scientists 0. Many researchers have been hoping


to discover a predator. Hixon recently travelled to the Pacific to see what keeps the lionfish there in check. “At this time, we just don’t know,” he admits. He and others have tried to entice a wide range of fish, from sharks to sea bass, to eat the invaders, but they’ve shown little interest. Bruce Purdy, the tour organiser, even dangled a lionfish in front of a green moray eel, a voracious eater: “The eel struck out at the lionfish, got stung and gave up.” Lionfish 2, Scientists 0. Now it’s too late to stop the lionfish


july 2010 READER’S DIGEST . JULY ’10


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