A diver shows off his catch – a lionfish, a predator threatening marine life in Cayman waters.

In a bid to help save the reefs of the Cayman Islands, Divetech has launched a Lionfish hunting expedition, aimed at capturing the dangerous predator that is currently threatening marine life in the Cayman waters.

“The Lionfish is a predator that is invading Cayman waters and depleting our indigenous marine life,” Divetech said in a press release on Wednesday.

Open to the public, Divetech hosting a weekly two-tank boat trip from 5 September through to 31 October (every Saturday). The dive trip is scheduled from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Check-in time is 12:30 pm.

Interested persons with diving permits and nets are invited to come and help catch the fish. Licence cards are needed for check-in.

All lionfish will be collected and handed over to the Department of the Environment.

The arrival of a small Pacific Ocean fish in local waters may have serious consequences for both divers in Cayman and on the environment itself, according to the release.

The so-called “red lionfish” is a native of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. According to recent reports, however, large numbers of the species have been found in the northern Caribbean, from the Cuban coastline and the island of Hispaniola, all the way to the waters off Little Cayman.

Experts are not certain how the Indian Ocean fish came to be in the Caribbean, but it is believed that in recent years a number of the fish may have escaped from the tanks of tropical fish collectors in Florida.

The 12 to 14 inch-sized fish is considered ornamental because of its vivid zebra-like red, orange, yellow and maroon stripes, and its extremely long separated spines, which appear like feathery wings in the water.

It is these spines, however, which are of concern to both divers and environmentalists. A voracious predator, according to some reports, it can eat as many as 20 smaller fish in as many minutes, by using its venomous spines to paralyze its prey and then swallow them whole. It is especially known to devour large quantities of juvenile fish as well as shrimp and lobster.

The Department of Environment is urging members of the public to report any Lionfish sightings immediately at (345) 949-8469. The DoE is also asking fishermen not to release the Lionfish back into the ocean if they are caught while fishing. Instead they are asked to place the Lionfish in a bucket or similar container and call the DoE to collect the fish.