Lionfish pose risks to Brazilian coast
A species of fish native to Asia, normally cultivated as ornamental fish, is posing risks to the Brazilian coast. The lionfish - invasive and poisonous – has reached the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean, and since there are no natural predators in the Indian Ocean, it is expanding across the Atlantic.
Dozens of this species have been recorded in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, for example. In May this year, lionfish were seen for the first time in Maranhão state, during an expedition aimed at studying an endangered species. Three specimens were found, with a length of half a meter. For the first time, this type of fish was registered at a depth of about 70 meters.
Also in May, the Coastal and Marine Observatory in the state of Ceará discussed the increase of this species and forwarded preventive measures to municipal secretariats in the region. Over 40 specimens of this type of fish have been registered there, measuring between 14 and 15 cm. They were all young and found in shallow places, such as traps set in the ground for fishing.
There is still no estimate of the lionfish population in Brazilian marine waters, but the new records prove the territorial expansion of the species, according to Leonardo Messias, coordinator of the Center for Research and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity in the Northeast of Chico Mendes Biodiversity Conservation Institute (ICMBio). In the Caribbean measures to contain the species only include fishing, Messias explained.
The lionfish has 18 poisonous thorns. The toxin is not lethal, but it can cause severe pain, nausea, and swelling. The female fish can produce up to 30,000 eggs. According to researchers from the Ceará Coastal and Marine Observatory, the lionfish does not represent, so far, a danger to bathers. 70 percent of the accidents recorded in the Caribbean were related to fishing.
But the species is a predator of other fish species and marine invertebrates. According to the Ceará Environment Department, it competes with other native carnivorous fish and can cause environmental and socioeconomic damage.
