English
RSE (Robots in Service of the Environment) is on a mission to save the Atlantic Ocean from a dangerous predator: the lionfish. In the warm waters of the Atlantic, especially in the Caribbean and costal waters around Florida, the carnivorous lionfish has exploded in population – damaging fisheries and reefs as they eat everything in sight, up to half their own body size!
Lionfish: The Invasive Predator From The Pacific
Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and live there in a balanced ecosystem. In 1985 lionfish were spotted off the east coast of Florida, most likely introduced there by aquarium owners discarding these beautiful fish into the ocean. Since then, lionfish have relentlessly invaded the western Atlantic, with scientists estimating well over a million fish devastating reefs and fisheries in all warm water regions, especially around Florida, throughout the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Moreover, the population continues to expand rapidly without check. Lionfish mature in 12 months and spawn approximately 30,000 eggs every 4–5 days, or about 2 million eggs per year.
Why Are Lionfish Such A Big Problem?
Lionfish are indiscriminate and voracious predators that do not stop feeding. They gorge on at least 70 different species of reef fish and crustaceans and are capable of eating prey up to half the size of their own body. A single lionfish can reduce the fish biomass on a reef by 80% in just one month. Lionfish are armed with 18 venomous spines making them an unattractive food source for other marine creatures. This apex predator has almost no natural predators of its own in the Atlantic. With no apparent limit to their population growth, other than water temperature, lionfish pose a huge threat to the fish stock of the western Atlantic Ocean.
What’s The Most Humane
And Widely Deployable Solution?
The unsolved disaster resulting from the infestation of lionfish in the western Atlantic begs for new ideas and a new approach. To be effective, the solution needs to be widely deployable and be economically self-sustaining. It needs to be able to reach large lionfish populations at depths down to 1,000 feet, as well as guard reefs from infestation. The operators must be non-professionals who can deploy and maintain the solution without extensive training. All these requirements can be met with properly designed, manufactured, and deployed underwater robots.
Watch The Guardian LF1 Robot In Action
Click Here to see the LIVE RSE Campaign on Kickstarter
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Press & Media Contact
Use this link if you’d like to contact RSE directly: https://robotsise.com/contact. Here you will find a specific contact form for Press & PR inquiries, Business and Partnership inquiries, technical inquiries, events or general questions.
Written By: Jordan @CrowdfundingHeadlines
The post RSE Launches Kickstarter to Address Atlantic Lionfish Crisis appeared first on Crowdfunding Headlines.