July 16, 2013 — Florida continues to be under attack by the lionfish, a species of invasive fish that has invaded the Sunshine State's coast. Wildlife researchers have been aware of the problem poised by these venomous and spiny fish-but what they weren't aware of was how pervasive the problem had become. Or how deep.
While studying the seafloor off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, researchers say they found the venomous invader thriving around a man made reef created from the remains of a sunken ship 300 feet below the water's surface.
"We expected some populations of lionfish at that depth, but their numbers and size were a surprise," researcher Stephanie Green, of Oregon State University, said in a statement.
According to reports from the research team, they witnessed a large number of the spiny fish near the intentionally sunken Bill Boyd cargo ship, an artificial reef created in 1986.