CONCH KEY, Florida—Fisherman Gary Nichols, who has been finding lionfish in his lobster traps off the Florida Keys for years, has noticed something different this year: Lionfish are eating each other.
“When you bring them up from those depths, lionfish spit out what’s in their stomachs, and I noticed quite a few of them regurgitating other lionfish. I didn’t even have to gut them to see it because they’re still in their mouths,” Nichols says. “They’re pretty incredible eaters so I’m not really surprised.”
Cannibalism may seem like nature’s way of coping with Florida’s growing lionfish invasion, but it is unlikely to offer a cure.
Visually stunning with their maroon and white stripes and long, fanlike fins, lionfish are considered the most destructive
