 |
| THIS ISSUE |
| HOME |
| SUBSCRIBE |
Mother Nature’s Lizardfish LegerdemainMother Nature is an illusionist. Now you see it. NOW YOU DON’T. In 2006, Narragansett Bay was invaded by a very ugly tropical predator—the inshore lizardfish. The fish prefers shallow waters and sandy bottoms, where it can camouflage itself and ambush passing marine creatures. Not fast swimmers, they are cobra quick, and always hungry. During the summer of 2006, R.I. Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) trawl and seine surveys, working as part of the Bay Window monitoring partner-ship, found 563 inshore lizardfish. This was more than the combined number discovered in the previous 20 years of RIDEM surveys. “They’re eating everything,” said a scientist from the RIDEM’s fisheries division. By extrapolating from the limited survey count, the estimated number in the entire Bay in 2006 was 1.5 million. (The Bay Window Program was featured in 410 N 3(1). View on-line at seagrant.gso.uri.edu/41N.) What effect would another lizardfish visit have? Would they presumably once again hitch an unintended ride up the Gulf Stream, where they could drift into the Bay and begin gorging themselves on the local species? If so, what impact would they have? Enter Mother Nature. Exit lizardfish. The RIDEM Bay Window monitoring trawls yielded virtually no lizardfish for the summer of 2007, after the previous year’s population died off in the cold winter waters it is not equipped to handle. Where did they go? Instead of fisheries researchers and managers wondering what kind of a bite the lizardfish would take out of local stocks this year, the party crashers of 2006 simply never showed up. But we learned a lesson while we watched Mother Nature’s sleight of hand. When the lizardfish was detected by the Bay Window monitoring in 2006, it set scientists and coastal managers into motion. They were analyzing the impact of that year and the possibility of continued new arrivals. They also began evolving ways to deal with this voracious new addition to Rhode Island’s waters and began the assessment and analysis of past years’ data to see what might have eased their transition into northern waters. Fortunately, in this case, the problem has disappeared from view. But perhaps not for long. Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the Commentary section of the Providence Journal on October 10, 2007. —Chip Young
|
Rhode
Island Sea Grant |
Coastal Institute |