NCCOS: Educational Materials: Lionfish

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Lionfish Education and Outreach

Lionfish, now found in high numbers along the Atlantic coast, are relatively new invaders. Native to the Indo–Pacific, Lionfish are venomous predatory fish with few, if any, enemies. Their beauty makes them very popular in the aquarium trade, and introduction was likely due to release from private aquaria. Lionfish have venomous spines that can potentially harm humans if envenomated (stung).

Warning the public about this potential health threat and prevention of new invasions is a primary goal of our ongoing education program. To accomplish this, in 2007, researchers at NOAA’s Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research partnered with the Essential Image Source Foundation (EISF) to develop a comprehensive outreach and education effort specifically designed to both educate and raise public awareness about the presence of the Indo Pacific lionfish along the East Coast of the United States. This research is funded by NOAA’s Invasive Species Program.

EISF’s immersive high definition video imagery and media technology, combined with CCFHR’s leading scientific lionfish research will be merged along with traditional "paper products" (i.e., flyers, signage and watch cards) to develop a targeted education campaign in five topic areas:

Raise awareness about lionfish with the general public in regions where the species has and has not been detected;
Educate the medical and first responder communities on how to deal with lionfish envenomation and warn those same communities about the potential health threats posed by the venomous spines;
Sensitize the aquarium industry relative to the acquisition of harmful organisms, and the ecological consequences of invasive species, like the lionfish, if released into the marine environment;
Continue engaging the fishing and SCUBA communities to inform them about the handling, reporting, collecting of the lionfish and the related medical treatment issues; and

NOAA scientist studying a collected specimen

Provide researchers with additional data from a wide variety of locations by encouraging the diving and fishing communities and other members of the general public to report sightings.

Still to come...we will be continually updating with the latest education and outreach links and downloadable education material.

Learn more about NOAA’s lionfish research

Report a Lionfish sighting: online form | via email

Are you a teacher? Get lesson plans about lionfish and much more!

Raise awareness about causes and consequences of aquarium releases at Habitattitude™, a national initiative developed by the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force and its partner organizations: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, and NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program.