Notes on the Biology of Invasive Lionfish (Pterois sp.) from the Northcentral Gulf of Mexico

The first confirmed sightings of lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico occurred in 2010 (Schofield 2010), where they were reported in the southern GOM off the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico (Aguilar-Perera and Tuz-Sulub 2010); in 2012 more than 1,500 lionfish were collected from northern GOM locations ranging from Florida to Texas (Fogg et al. 2013). However, other than visual observations (mostly from recreational divers), there is relatively little information on the biology and ecology of lionfish in the northern GOM. The life history of invasive species can vary as they colonize new habitats and areas (Bøhn et al. 2004); thus, biological parameters described for lionfish along the US southeast coast, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean may differ as the species invades the GOM. Recently, Fogg et al. (2013) provided information on length-weight and sex ratios of northern GOM lionfish. Here, we report biological data from 4 lionfish captured during fishery-independent sampling in nearshore GOM waters off Alabama in May 2012