Invasive species
The Lionfish
lionfish pulled off Barbados reefs so far. Nothing here hunts them, so divers have to.
1234Why they're invasive
Not from here
Native to the Indo-Pacific. Aquarium fish released off Florida were first seen in 1985 and spread across the Caribbean.
No predators
Our groupers and sharks don't treat them as food, and native fish don't see them as a threat.
Breed nonstop
A female spawns every few days, all year: about 2 million eggs. Currents carry them island to island.
Live anywhere
From mangroves and seagrass to reefs over 100 m deep, so divers can't reach them all.
- 1
Venomous spines
18 spines with a painful sting. Venomous, not poisonous, so the meat is safe to eat.
- 2
Fan fins
Spread wide to trap small fish in a corner before it strikes.
- 3
Big mouth, stretchy stomach
Swallows small fish whole. One lionfish can cut young fish on a reef by 79% in five weeks.
- 4
Our reef fish
Its prey: young parrotfish and grazers that keep algae off the coral. Nothing here eats lionfish back.
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