Lionfish: An Ocean Tragedy in Three Acts

January 14, 2025

7am Hawaii / 10 am Pacific / 12 pm Central / 1 pm Eastern

Join Dr. Steve Gittings, Chief Scientist of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, for a front-row seat to a 40-year saga of beauty, death, and survival. Act I: A brilliant new star, the Indo-Pacific lionfish, makes its dramatic debut in the Atlantic Ocean. Mesmerizing at first, it soon horrifies as it leaves disappearance in its wake. Act II: An ecological crisis ensues as native fish succumb to waves of these alien invaders, with no natural defenses to stop them. Act III: Humans enter the scene, combining innovation and brute force to offer Nature a helping hand while it seeks its own footing. Will this epic struggle find resolution? Is it the end of the ocean we know, or a new beginning? Learn how this drama unfolds and what the future holds.

Meet the Presenter

Dr. Steve Gittings

Dr. Steve Gittings is Chief Scientist for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Initially specializing in coral reef ecology and disturbance, he managed the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary before moving to headquarters. Dr. Gittings has worked in the field of conservation science his entire career, studying and tracking changes in ocean ecosystems. These studies and data inform on resource management and assist in dealing with accidents like ship groundings and oil spills. He has been diving for over 50 years, is a submarine pilot, and has lived underwater for weeks at a time. He also works to control lionfish, an invasive species in the western Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Gittings developed a trap that could potentially create a new commercial fishery that provides a steady supply of lionfish to seafood and other developing markets.

Submerged NC webinars are part of the National Marine Sanctuaries webinar series and are brought to you by NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. You can view archived webinars on the Submerged NC webinar archived page.  

The National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series provides educators with educational and scientific expertise, resources, and training to support ocean and climate literacy in the classroom. This series currently targets formal and informal educators, students (high school through college), as well as members of the community, including families. Click here to visit the sanctuaries' archived webinar series to catch up on presentations you may have missed. 

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The webinar ID is 246-847-459