Going deep for lionfish: designs for two new traps for capturing lionfish in deep water

Over the last three decades, lionfish populations have exploded throughout the western Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Their high abundances and gluttonous appetites threaten not only ecosystems like coral reefs, but also important nursery areas, and deep habitats hundreds of feet below diving depths. In some shallow water dive sites, spearfishing has proven an effective way to control populations. For those locations, sustained removals may limit the impacts these fish on the invaded ecosystems.