Reporting of invasive marine fish helped by new watch list

Lionfish a problem

Biology News

Invasive Marine Fish: A venomous red lionfish (Pterois volitans) waits to be hauled to the surface, where it will be used by NOAA to conduct lab studies on lionfish reproductive biology, age, and growth.

Red lionfish Pterois volitans

For the first time, a field guide for non-native marine fishes can be used to help prevent the establishment of foreign invaders that could pose risks to Florida’s coastal ecosystems.

A team of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Reef Environmental and Education Foundation (REEF) recently published the illustrated “watch list”.  The guide is part of a larger effort to protect US coastal waters from the threats posed by invasive marine fishes.

“Non-native fishes can have cascading effects that ultimately degrade the productivity and diversity of coral ecosystems,” said Pam Schofield, a USGS biologist and lead author of the field guide.

Many non-native fish spotted in coastal waters are thought to be aquarium fish that were released or that escaped captivity.  There may be a small window of opportunity to remove these invasive fish immediately, before they begin reproducing.

“Once they are established – that is, once their populations are self-sustaining – there’s no known method for eradicating them,” added Schofield.

The red lionfish, which was first documented off Florida in 1985, provides an example of what can happen once an non-native invader becomes established.  It is now widespread along the eastern coast of the U.S., as far north as Long Island, and in parts of the Caribbean, and it preys upon ecologically important native fish and crustaceans. Armed with long venomous spines, these Indian and western Pacific reef fish now pose a hazard to swimmers in the U.S. Although their venom is not as a rule fatal to humans, it does cause excruciating pain.

“So far the red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is the only non-native marine fish that is established and poses an immediate threat to south Florida’s reefs”, said NOAA ecologist James A. Morris, Jr. “Lionfish will likely compete with native species adding yet another problem for our already stressed coral reefs.”

To help prevent the establishment of new non-native fishes in Florida's marine waters, the USGS, NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and REEF published the new field guide as part of their efforts to detect and remove non-native marine fishes as soon as they are discovered.  The guide provides descriptions of non-native marine fishes that have been seen along Florida’s coasts, and includes maps of the sightings.

“We published this guide as a tool for preventing non-native fishes from becoming established,” said Schofield.  “We’re tracking sightings of all the non-native fishes listed in this field guide.  We hope that divers, fishermen, and others will use the guide to report non-natives right away and help prevent what happened with the lionfish.”

The Field Guide to Nonindigenous Marine Fishes of Florida can be found online at http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Marine_Fish_ID/index.html.

Suspected non-native fish can be reported to the USGS-NAS database.

If you want to help by volunteering your time to survey reefs, contact REEF (www.reef.org).