Indo-Pacific Lionfish in the Atlantic

Researchers are launching an investigation to determine just how far into the Atlantic Ocean the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish has reached.

The spindly, striped fish were first discovered off the coast of North Carolina in 2000, but they are believed to have been present off the east coast of Florida since the mid 1990's. Popular in the aquarium trade, the fish were likely released by amateur aquarists who no longer wanted them, scientists say.

On July 27, researchers at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) embarked on a nine-day mission to better understand the northward and inshore movement of lionfish, their population densities, reproductive capabilities and sustainability along the mid-Atlantic continental shelf.

Lionfish have spines containing a neurotoxin that can cause painful stings to unwary humans and paralyze other fish.

--LiveScience Staff

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Credit:  NOAA