[Coral-List] Lionfish in the Atlantic

[Tupper, Mark (WorldFish)]

I agree with Charles that lionfish would most likely target juvenile
grunts, snappers and cardinalfishes, and also chromis, which they
certainly hunt in the Pacific. They also don't have the type of feeding
apparatus for picking cryptic blennies and gobies out of reef crevices.

A quick question for anyone based in Hawaii: as Charles said, Lutjanus
kasmira was introduced to Hawaii in the 1950s. Recently I noticed
schools of them in pictures taken from the Northwest Hawaiian Islands
and French Frigate Shoals. Does anyone know if they were deliberately
released there also, or have they just island-hopped their way northwest
over the past 50 years?

Cheers,
Mark

Dr. Mark Tupper
Scientist - Coral Reefs
The WorldFish Center
PO Box 500 GPO, 10670 Penang, Malaysia
Tel (+6-04) 626-1606; Fax (+6-04) 626-5530