New sightings of lionfish in the Mediterranean are sparking fears the invasive species could wreak havoc on local economies, an international conservation group said Monday.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature said in a statement that the group has confirmed new sightings of the highly invasive species off the shores of Turkey and Cyprus. The group warned that aggressive measures must be taken to combat the lionfish, which has already caused massive damage in the coastal waters of the United States and Caribbean.
“This species could have a heavy negative impact on the ecosystems as well as on the local economies,” marine biologist, Carlos Jiménez of The Cyprus Institute, said in a statement.
The group is working with local collaborators report sightings of invasive species like the lionfish in an online portal, so researchers can further map the spread and get an idea of how large the population is.
In the United States, lionfish were first spotted in Florida in the mid-1980s, and have continued to spread rapidly. Florida’s Wildlife Commission estimates there are millions of the fish, which have no predators, and damaged native fish and shrimp populations.
Florida officials have said the fish may have been released from someone’s home aquarium and have pushed for people to combat the species in the kitchen by catching the fish and eating it.
Wildlife and local officials have long encouraged communities to host massive kill-offs of the fish, though they are unsure whether it’s possible to eradicate the species completely.
Here’s to hoping the same problem doesn’t spread to the Mediterranean.
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