Dreaded Lionfish Invades Florida Keys
Yes, the dreaded lionfish has made its way to the Florida Keys. Fowler's discovery, confirmed a few days later by divers who captured and dissected the creature, has sent shivers through the Keys' fishing and tourism industries.
Just as pythons have disturbed the natural ecosystem of the Everglades, the lionfish could someday become a scourge of the Keys. A Bluto Blutarsky of the water kingdom, it will eat anything it can cram into its mouth — sea horses, crustaceans and all manner of native fish — and is a breeding machine.
Also, it stings divers, painfully.
"We knew this 'perfect predator' was coming," said Lisa Mitchell, executive director of the Key Largo-based Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), which responded to Fowler's discovery. "We just didn't know when."
The lionfish is a native of the Pacific and Indian oceans, but was introduced to Atlantic waters 16 years ago. Some blame the ballast of seagoing vessels. Others cite careless aquarium owners, who dump the fish when they outgrow their tanks.
