How did lionfish get into the Atlantic Ocean?
Reportedly, six lionfish were accidentally released in Biscayne Bay, Florida, when a beachside aquarium or nursery broke open during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. It’s likely that even more have been released on purpose when people no longer want them as aquarium pets because they grew too large for the aquarium, or they learned the hard way that lionfish will eat their other fish! The swift and warm Gulf Stream, which likely transported buoyant lionfish eggs and larvae from Florida northward, helped the lionfish’s Atlantic journey. It’s pretty unusual for non-native, tropical marine fishes, like the lionfish, to establish themselves at this latitude. In Florida waters and along the continental shelf near the Gulf Stream the temperatures are very similar to the lionfish’s native waters.
