Over the course of the last week, our ‘Saving the Ocean’ video crew touched shores and reefs of the Bahamas, Florida and Mexico. Each time we landed on the sea floor, we quickly found lionfish. How could they have spread in the Atlantic so quickly after being nonexistent here just 20 years ago?
Something that keeps them in check in their native Indian Ocean and west Pacific haunts is missing here. It’s often the case that invaders transported to new haunts quickly build to plague-like levels. But I have an additional thought in this case. Before widespread overfishing, Atlantic reefs held enormous numbers of fishes of dozens of species. They all managed to find enough food to support themselves. With so many fish depleted by our hooks, nets and traps, all the food that once made groupers, snappers, sea basses and others was available to go elsewhere.
via Scourge of the Lionfish, Part 4: From Beautiful Novelty to Marine Invader ? – NYTimes.com.