Environmental officials unveiled a smartphone app to track sightings of the invasive lionfish in its waters.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) developed a smartphone app dubbed "Report Florida Lionfish," and unveiled it on May 28 to encourage people to report sightings of lionfish in the area. Officials hoped that the app would be useful in eradicating the invasive species from the waters.
There are two lionfish species that are considered problematic in the United States. One is the red lionfish, characterized by its white or cream color and numerous red stripes, and elongated fin spines. Another is the devil firefish that looks similar to the red lionfish, except that it has fewer spines. These species are non-native to the U.S waters as they usually breeds in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. The abundance of the lionfish could threaten the native fish in the area, affect food resources, and endanger human lives with their stings.
"The lionfish has no known natural predators in the Atlantic...and the ability to spawn year-round," said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as quoted by Reuters.
Environmental officials admitted that fully eradicating the lionfish would be impossible, but they aimed at least to control their population growth. Many efforts were made to document lionfish sightings and remove the fish yet they continued to thrive. One of the efforts launched by the U.S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was campaigning lionfish as a food with a slogan "Eat sustainable, eat lionfish!" Participation was low in the United States, but the same campaign was successful in Jamaica, where lionfish sightings decreased by 66 percent.
As part of the promotion of the Report Florida Lionfish app, the first 250 people to register on the app would receive a free Lionfish Control Team t-shirt with an interactive logo. Those who do not have a smartphone can still report on the agency's website.
