August 23, 2021 — Coastal countries have between two and five years to act to protect native fish species once voracious lionfish arrive in their waters, according to a University of Alberta ecology professor who helped create a tool to predict which fish are in danger.
The lionfish, originally a popular aquarium species native only to the Pacific and Indian oceans, is now a highly invasive species throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, where they are known to consume hundreds of native fish species.
“There’s lots of concern about what their impacts will be and also which species are at risk,” said Stephanie Green, Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Global Change Ecology and Conservation in the Faculty of Science. “They’re the perfect invader.”