The Lionfish Invasion of the Caribbean Cannot be Stopped Naturally, Study Says

Lionfish have slowly been invading the Caribbean waters far from their Indo-Pacific home, and it looks like they're not going anywhere. According to a new study, the invasive nature of the lionfish in the Caribbean won't slow down unless humans directly intervene.

"When I began diving 10 years ago, lionfish were a rare and mysterious species seen deep within coral crevices in the Pacific Ocean," said Serena Hackerott, lead author of the study published in the journal PLOS One. "They can now been seen across the Caribbean, hovering above the reefs throughout the day and gathering in groups of up to ten or more on a single coral head."

The reason these venomous fish are growing unchecked and wreaking havoc on local marine ecosystems is that they have no natural predators in the area. The study looked at over 70 coral reefs over the period of three years and found no relationship between predator density and the population of lionfish. Lionfish are popular aquarium staples due to their bright colorations, but the fish carries deadly venom in its barbs. Still, the fish is considered edible once the barbs are plucked.

The study did find that lionfish populations were lower in protected reefs due to direct human intervention leading the team to state that, "Active and direct management, perhaps in the form of sustained culling, appears to be essential to curbing local lionfish abundance and efforts to promote such activities should be encouraged."

"Lionfish are here to stay, and it appears that the only way to control them is by fishing them," said John Bruno, another research team member.