Our Mission

We are a group dedicated to preserving our oceans’ reefs and native fish populations, which are threatened in the western Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico by the invasive lionfish . We formed this non-profit to share information and resources relating to the infestation of this invasive species.

Our goal is to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining these fragile ecosystems in the global community, and to fund efforts to mitigate the devastating effects of this invasive species.

Please share your lionfish stories, photos, videos, and resources with us here, and if you have any suggestions for things you would like included on our website or Facebook page, please contact us at hello@lionfishuniversity.org.

Our Founders

Jim Hart

James is a screenwriter with numerous writing and producing credits including Hook!, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Contact, Sahara, August Rush, Crossbones, Epic, and others.

While working on a lionfish thriller screenplay he became interested in the impact that Lionfish are having on reef systems and on people as a geo-political and social problem in the small island nations of the Caribbean. Hart lives in NYC when he is not diving.

Stacy Frank

Stacy has been an avid SCUBA diver since 1973 and lives to dive. She has a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and lives in Las Vegas with her husband.

It became clear during research for a lionfish thriller screenplay that our Caribbean reefs are being threatened by many factors, including the invasive IndoPacific lionfish. Stacy firmly believes that now is the time to face this nemesis.

Courtney Platt

Courtney is a Caymanian professional photographer who has made over 5,000 dives in Grand Cayman since 1983. He is a personal witness to the effect that overfishing has had on our diving tourism product.

An ardent proponent to reversing that trend, he is equally concerned about the additional burden that the lionfish invasion places on reef fish recovery.