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Is the Aquarium Trade to Blame? |
The aquarium
trade appears
the most likely vector for
the introduction of lionfish into U.S. waters,
but the lionfish's introduction into the Atlantic
remains something of a mystery. Recent research
indicates that a number of other tropical aquarium
fish are currently surviving off the coast
of Florida. Also, the color patterns of lionfish
sighted off the Atlantic coast of the U.S.
are similar to those from the Philippines,
where many lionfish are collected for the aquarium
trade.
Scientists say it is impossible
to determine if the lionfish released in 1992
account for the species invasion of Atlantic Ocean. Some scientists have suggested that lionfish entered Atlantic waters when larvae or juvenile fish were trapped in ships moving from the Pacific to the Atlantic and were released when the ballast water was
pumped out.
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However, there is no evidence to
support ballast water as
the source for the lionfish invasion, although
it is a common source of aquatic alien
species introductions generally.
Further, although lionfish have been introduced
into the western Mediterranean, probably through
the Suez Canal, there is no evidence that they
crossed the Atlantic or that they entered the
Atlantic through the Panama Canal. Besides,
it is very unlikely that the tropical lionfish
could survive a journey across the cold water
between the two oceans.
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