Red Lionfish

Photo: 808_Diver · CC BY-NC

Lionfish have established a dense population across the Sal Rei wrecks, hovering in the sheltered undersides of decks and within corroded engine rooms where their venomous spines make them almost impossible to dislodge. Their presence is ecologically significant because the Indo-Pacific species is invasive in the Atlantic, and the Cape Verde population is monitored by local researchers studying the westward range expansion from Macaronesia. Despite the ecological concern, they are visually spectacular subjects for underwater photographers and hover obligingly at close range.