Lionfish populations expanding rapidly in Atlantic/Caribbean region

[Ninong]

Lionfish Taking Over Tropical Atlantic/Caribbean

What a mess! In some areas they have already wiped out 80% of the smaller reef fishes.

[InTheDark]

They have really taken a toll on the fish life in the Bahamas. It seems you can't go diving anywhere in the Bahamas without running into a few.

[algy1943]

They have really taken a toll on the fish life in the Bahamas. It seems you can't go diving anywhere in the Bahamas without running into a few.

I go snorkling several times each year in Sharm el Sheikh and you will always bump into lion fish around the coral areas

algy1943

[Ninong]

Yes, I believe they have invaded the Red Sea now, as well as the Mediterranean and parts of the Eastern Atlantic. In the case of the lionfish in the Western Atlantic-Caribbean Sea-Gulf of Mexico region, DNA testing shows that all of those fish came from six or seven specimens believed to have been released in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew destroyed the public aquarium where they were housed in South Florida. All of the lionfish found over here are Pterois volitans.