Fight invasive lionfish - with robots?

Article about an ambitious plan to fight the huge problem of invasive lionfish in oceans that are not part of their natural range. MIT scientists are building an underwater robot to shoot them!
This Robot Will Hunt Lionfish to Save Coral Reefs

 

What a creative solution! This is essentially the first robots vs aliens face off in history!

Hope it works!

 

That's a badly written article. But I hope the robot works in the field.



Hix

 

How many Lionfish are estimated to be in the Atlantic now?

 

I can't find any recent estimate at all... An older one, "Recent estimates of lionfish densities show the populations continuing to grow, with the highest estimates reporting over 1,000 lionfish per acre in some locations (NOAA)." And that estimate is from 2011... Considering they don't belong in the Atlantic period, not good.

 

As invasive lionfish reach uncontrollable depths in the Atlantic, conservationists turn towards technology to control the population.

Technology Helps Control Invasive Lionfish Population - Island Conservation

 

Around the Caraibic island of Saba the population is declining :

Nature Today | Rapid decline in lionfish for the Saba Bank