Control of the lion fish

A recent Oregon State University study shows that controlling the invasive lionfish in the western Atlantic Ocean is likely to allow for recovery of native fish. The lionfish is estimated to have wiped out 95% of native fish in some Atlantic locations. This Atlantic invasion is believed to have begun in the 1980s and now covers an area larger than the United States.

With venomous spines and aggressive behavior, the lionfish has no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean and will eat almost anything smaller than they are including fish, shrimp, crabs and octopus. Lion fish can withstand starvation for protracted periods; many of their prey species will disappear before they do.