b'native fish.And they tend to stay longer.The trap I designed looks like a folded, six-foot taco when it drops to the bottom.It opens when it hits, and its net lays flat, leaving only an exposed, upright plastic sheet in themiddle that is enough to attract nearby lionfish. I call it a non-containment trap because noneof the fish are actually trapped until the trap is pulled.They are free to come and go. Other fish show up too, but they dont cluster as closely to the traps as lionfish.And they get spooked more easily than the naturally docile lionfish.So when the trap is pulled after soaking for a couple days, most native fish scatter when the jaws of the trap begin to close.Lionfish dont move until itstoo late.The traps loose netting billows as the jaws close around them, so they dont feel thenetting until the trap is already shut.And we get very little by-catch as a result.LFD.com: Are traps the answer to controlling lionfish in deep water?Gittings: Thats the million dollar question!We did a lot of testing of the traps in shallow water around artificial reefs, where divers could watch how well they worked and see how fish behaved around them.But traps wont work well near shallow water natural reefs because lionfish prefer the high relief shelter provided by the reefs.In deep water, shelter is harder to find.The traps should work better there.Right now, tests are being done in deeper water in the Florida Keys to see if these things have commercial potential.Does the fishing community want them?Can they fish them effectively?Will lionfish be attracted from the natural substrate?Bottom line - can they make money?The Reef EnvironmentalEducation Foundation has a NOAA grant to work with lobster fishers to find out.The project is led by Dr. Alli Candelmo and Lex Bryant.As it plays out, we may find that the design or materials need to change, and how to fish the trapsforexample with single lines for each or as a line of traps strung together on the bottom. Well also learn to properly weight the traps in different conditions to ensure that they go straight down and open every time, and stay open, even in areas with strong currents and higher seas.There are a lot of questions, so the answer right now is that we just dont know if traps will do for deep water ecosystems what spearfishing has done in controlling shallow water lionfish populations. But my hope is that the fishing community will become the protectors of deep ecosystems while making money in the process.Steve Gittings is Chief Scientist for NOAAs Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.He has over 40 years of experience in scientific diving,robotic vehicles, and submersible use.He was the first manager of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary followingits designation in 1992, and moved to headquarters in 1998.In 2023, he celebrates his 50th year of diving! 13'