A venomous Lionfish that has the ability to paralyse and even kill humans has been found in UK waters for the first time.
On the coast of Dorset on the 30th of September father and son Arfon Summers (39) and Bill (75) went fishing and caught something very unexpected. And for once, it isn’t covid.
The pair caught a six-inch fish that has been identified as a Lionfish which are native to the tropical reefs of the Pacific Ocean. They are colourfully striped fish but have incredibly venomous spikes which can cause severe pain. The venom can even cause death among humans, though this is said to be rare.
Arfon has said about the catch “My mind was blown, a lionfish is a new off shore personal best. It’s no doubt the ocean in getting warmer to house these. I didn’t let it go due to it being an invasive species.” And it seems that he did the right thing.
Experts are now saying it’s important to establish how the fish arrived here. It could have inadvertently escaped from the aquarium trade, or as Arfon said, it could have traveled here itself. This could be disastrous for native species as the lionfish is so invasive and more would be likely to come.
Question for non native species twitter – this was posted on a Dorset angling site today – lionfish in UK waters….a first?! #nnis @SERCinvasions pic.twitter.com/K0z3Q6OpsY
— Grant Stentiford (@grantstentiford) September 23, 2021
As well as threatening out native fish species, lionfish do pose a threat to us humans. The Marine Coordinator at the Angling Trust, Nevin Hunter is encouraging people to be ‘vigilant’ in the waters: “A sting will easily put you in hospital and could kill.”
Jason Hall-Spencer, a leading lionfish expert has said “The water is warm enough, so a lionfish could have swum over here from the western Mediterranead. If it has, it means there will likely be more” he also goes on to say that “it’s easy to get stung if you’re swimming or snorkelling.”
Although incidents of people being stung are “infrequent and rarely fatal”, according to Tynemouth Aquarium, they also say that a lionfish sting can have numerous unpleasant effects such as “extreme pain and nausea, to convulsions, dizziness, fever and numbness.”
So if you plan on fishing or swimming off the coast of Dorset keep your eyes peeled or think of changing your plans. But personally, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble staying away from the water in this weather.
