On a diving boat in the waters off Key Biscayne, tattoo artist Nate Sorenson is pursuing his second passion: diving.
“This was a good one,” he says, “as good as it gets.”
Hoisting a device that looks like a glass case called a zookeeper over his shoulder, he opens a cooler to reveal dozens of lionfish. The smallest are no more than three inches long, while the largest is 16 inches. When he weighs that one, the scale reports a staggering 2 pounds, 5 ounces.
“That’s just 2 ounces shy of the biggest we’ve caught,” he says.
Over the course of the day, Sorenson and his team dive with a speargun, a camera and a zookeeper. It’s all part of a once-a-week routine, when they dedicate a day to hunting a beautiful reef fish that is causing a world of trouble: the lionfish.
The lionfish, named for its mane of venomous spikes, is popular among saltwater aquarium owners for its unique looks. In the wilds of South Florida, however, it’s a voracious invader with little competition.
“The biggest problem with this fish is it has zero predators in this area, and they can eat 90% of their body weight in a day,” says Sorenson. “They’ve got it made in the shade here.”
Sorenson, along with his nonprofit Lionfish Extermination Corp, is part of a growing wave of people and organizations with one goal in mind: the eradication of lionfish from Florida waters. Divers hunt lionfish in derby competitions, restaurants cook them into sandwiches or make lionfish sushi. Even grocery stores like Whole Foods sell them.
“Lionfish didn’t evolve here, and because of that their prey doesn’t recognize a predator and they’re ill-equipped to deal with them,” says Sorenson. “We try to fill that gap.”
Though researchers are unable to pinpoint exactly when they first reached local waters, the earliest sightings of lionfish in South Florida were reported as far back as 1985, in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach. From there they spread across Florida, as far as Jacksonville, Tampa and now choke the Florida Keys.
Though their origins in South Florida waters remain unknown, the widely accepted belief is they made their way to the oceans through release in the aquarium trade.
“At the end of the day, I think the main reason is just from people having them as pets and releasing them, here and there,” says Sorenson. “But they’re here, they’re not supposed to be here and they’re really harming the environment, so however it is, we still have to take care of them regardless.”
Key Largo boater Jessica DiPilato marvels at adaptable they are.
“They’re absolutely everywhere,” she says. “You can’t even fish them or net them, because of the spikes. The only way to get rid of them is by spear.”
The successful spread of lionfish is largely credited to its growth rate and adaptability. According to a study published by the U.S. Geological Survey, female lionfish can spawn once every four days, producing up to two million eggs a year.
“They reach sexual maturity at one years old,” says Alex Borsutzky, a scuba diver and local fisher who is part of the Lionfish Extermination Corp. “Native fish like the grouper take eight years to mature, and lionfish eat their babies on top of that, so they’re losing the race badly.”
Borsutzky has worked to compile a list documenting the characteristics of lionfish and all the traits that make them an ideal successful invasive species.
“The more information we have about lionfish, the better chance we have at preventing this same thing from happening with other invasive species,” he says.
Sorenson began hunting lionfish in 2012 and started posting about lionfish in 2018. He makes his dives early in the morning, venturing beyond the reefs in the Boynton Inlet, Miami Beach or Fort Lauderdale. He scours the outskirts of the reef or rocky places where caves exist, which lionfish frequent.
“Once you wipe them off the shallow parts of the reef they will be found in less likely areas, and you have to go where other people don’t go,” he says. “Dive charters will only bring you to pretty reefs, but you need to be able to go anywhere and everywhere to find them.”
At the end of his dives, Sorenson often docks at the Two George’s restaurant in Boynton Beach, where he brings some of his catch to one of the cooks, Mary.
“I promised her one of these days we’d cook some together,” he says.
The location also gives him an opportunity to educate as his catch of the day draws in a curious crowd. Visitors to the dock can learn all there is to know about the invasive species while he works.
Sorenson cuts the spines from the bigger fish and cleans them to sell to the Sushi Bar restaurant in Miami Beach. The restaurant is one of many in South Florida that offer lionfish as a substitute for snapper and grouper in their popular dishes.
“A really common misconception about lionfish is that people think it’s toxic to eat, kind of like the pufferfish,” he says. “What they don’t realize is the venom is all in the spines, so as long as you cut them off and you don’t get poked while you’re cleaning, you’ll be good to go.”
Ultimately, the Lionfish Extermination Corp.’s main goal is education. Everything from their dives to their posts on Instagram and Tik Tok and even the stickers they give out are dedicated to spreading the word about the lionfish invasion.
“A lot of times people like to say, ‘Well what’s the point if you can only kill one or two, because it barely leaves a dent,’” says Borsutzky. “But if you catch even one lionfish that eats an average of 10 fish a day in its 15-year lifespan, then you’re saving a huge number of fish who are growing up to be vital parts of the ecosystem. Even just one can make a difference.”
