NURP Funded Project Featured on NOAA Website Home Page
This story entered on 24th May, 2004 08:21:33 AM PST

NOAA's home page on www.noaa.gov is featuring an article this week entitled "NOAA scientists hunt for 'lions' in the Atlantic: venomous invasive fish can be dangerous to divers and deepwater fishermen". This project exemplifies the type of management-driven research that NURP funds in support of NOAA's management needs.

This summer NOAA scientists at the NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research funded by the NURP Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington will be conducting field studies to examine the status of the lionfish population and examine life history characteristics to determine the risk of lionfish to Alantic Coast Ecosystems. The lionfish, a venomous coral reef fish, is native to the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans and was introduced to the U.S. east coast in the mid 1990s. Lionfish are believed to pose particular risks to the local environment and divers and fishermen. They are voracious predators that feed not only on small shrimps, but also on large fish, perhaps including the young of important commercial fish species.

Contact information
Name: Andy Shepard
Tel: (910) 962-2441
sheparda@uncwil.edu