Roatan Marine Park divers are training sharks to like a new snack–that of the invasive lionfish. Some wonder if the taining sharks to feast on these fish the best way to make any difference. “It may be more effective for the Roatan divers to spend their time hunting lionfish, as the sharks they are feeding are likely residents and not transients [so they] may only consume lionfish where the divers are already feeding them lionfish,” said shark expert R. Grant Gilmore, Jr., of Estuarine, Coastal and Ocean Science, Inc., a private environmental firm in Vero Beach, Florida. “Foraging theory states that an organism will eat food that gives [the forager] the most benefit without spending much energy finding and consuming the food. “A lionfish in hand is easier to find and consume than one under a rock ledge. A school of grunts or snapper would likely be more accessible to the shark than a lonely lionfish.” Still, this idea is unique and with the growing problem of lionfish taking over the worlds major oceans, it cannot seem but to help.
via [National Geographic]
