Meeting of the Sanibel Island Fishing Club: The invasive lionfish
On Tuesday, March 11, the Sanibel Island Fishing Club will be holding it’s monthly meeting. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the north room of the Sanibel Island Community House, which is located at 2173 Periwinkle Way. This month’s featured speaker will begin his presentation at 7 p.m. sharp. There is no admission charge for the event and the angling public is cordially invited to attend. Pizza and refreshments are available at a nominal charge.
This month’s featured speaker is Mike Campbell, environmental specialist and senior artificial reef director for the Division of Natural Resources of Lee County. Campbell will be giving a fascinating presentation on the recent invasion of the lionfish into both Lee and Collier offshore waters. Originally from the Indo-Pacific oceans, the lionfish in the Gulf have no known predators and are known to eat juvenile snapper, grouper, and other important gamefish. First discovered near Dania, Fla. in 1985, the lionfish is now rampant in the Florida Keys and will eventually invade the entire Gulf of Mexico.
Campbell will also be giving us an update as to the current status of lionfish on our offshore reefs. A round-up rodeo is planned for April that will put scores of local divers down trying to remove these venomous fish from our regional reefs and ledges. Anyone interested in artificial reefs and invasive species should plan to attend this meeting.
The Sanibel Island Fishing Club meets monthly through season and sponsors several group outings as well as lending support for various fishing related charities and organizations such as START, Lee Reefs and the Sanibel Sea School. For information on joining the club please contact Rol Campbell at 472-8994 or attend our next meeting.