Lionfish are such a nuisance that the state of Florida is organizing a three-day summit this month to encourage scientific warfare against the exotic invaders.

Lionfish, native to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, are popular tropicals in home aquariums. Destruction of a big one by the tidal surge of 1992 Hurricane Andrew is widely believed to have begun their occupation of waters off southeast Florida.

The Fish & Wildlife and Conservation Commission (FWC) describes the Oct 22-24 conference as “a unique opportunity for the research community, resource managers and the public to review ongoing research efforts, identify research gaps, review current management efforts and identify alternative management and control strategies and challenges.”

The summit wants research projects about lionfish biology, trends in their abundance in Florida, progress reports for ongoing removal projects regarding efforts and summaries of new and developing research.

At least six research projects will be presented in full. Others will be presented as abstracts, enabling scientists to know what colleagues are up to.

The event is scheduled at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront hotel. It’s free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.

A detailed agenda was supposed to be posted by the end of September at this website: www.fwclionfish.eventbrite.com   where registration information and other details will be added as details are settled.