A Lion's Share of the Oceans

Scientists recently reported that non-native lionfish populations will continue to grow and cannot be eliminated practically using conventional methods. Lionfish have taken hold along the southeast United States coast, placing divers and fishermen at significant risks from their painful, venomous sting, as well as leaving native fish populations potentially susceptible to new and unstudied hazards from their interactions with this species.

Lionfish, a native of the Indian and Pacific oceans, are now considered established in the Atlantic Ocean. First discovered off the coast of North Carolina in 2000, they are believed to have been present off the east coast of Florida since the mid 1990s. Lionfish, popular in the aquarium trade, were likely introduced through releases by amateur aquarists no longer wishing to keep the fish.

According to researchers, that the cost and effort to dispatch trained divers--the only effective elimination method currently known--would be impractical, partly due to the expansive deepwater reef habitats of the Southeast coast of the United States and Bahamas, an area encompassing more than 62,000 square miles.

How lionfish will affect native fish populations has yet to be determined or assessed, including the potential impacts to the commercial fishing industry. However, non-indigenous species can have serious negative economic effects and cause major disruption of native ecosystems.

---LiveScience Staff

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Credit: NOAA