Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Islanders with enough foresight and money keep rainwater cisterns for such emergencies,
but folks without these reserves suffer.
Invasive Species
Lionfish first appeared in Virgin Islands' waters in late 2008. Striped with venomous spines
and the homeliest thing you ever did see, it is native to the Pacific but started showing up
in the Caribbean in the 1990s, probably released by aquarium hobbyists. The voracious
creature multiplied quickly and began consuming native fish (it can eat as many as 20 per
day) and competing with others for food. It has no known predators in the Caribbean, and
now biologists fear a full-on invasion that will wreak havoc on local fisheries and reefs.
Biologists attribute its arrival in the Virgins to undersea currents and ballast water from
boats traveling from elsewhere in the Caribbean. So far, they've been spotted only around
St Croix and St John.
