In my last post I described how the lionfish, native to the Indian Ocean and west Pacific, now infest just about every reef and wreck in the west Atlantic, from Venezuela to Rhode Island. They might have gotten there in ballast water taken on by trans-oceanic freighters, but most people believe that releases from home aquariums in Florida initially seeded them into the Atlantic. In their new home, their venomous spines make them virtually invulnerable to predators, and their insatiable appetite for juveniles of dozens of species of native reef fishes makes them a scourge. Scientists, divers, and commercial fishers are now beginning to mount a counterattack. But by all accounts, lionfish are here to stay.
via Scourge of the Lionfish, Part 2: Counterattack – NYTimes.com.