Current Science: Exotic fish imperil ecosystems

FLORIDA KEYS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY -- When the movie Finding Nemo was released last year, many kids flushed their pet fish down the toilet, hoping the fish would find their way back to the ocean the way Nemo did. The kids had good intentions, but pet fish should never be put into the wild. This summer, marine scientists captured a pair of orbicular batfish living off the Florida Keys. The exotic fish are native to the Pacific Ocean. The batfish is just one of 16 normative species recently found living in 32 places off Florida. The others include orangespine unicorn fish, raccoon butterfly fish, tang, angelfish, and lionfish. The appearance of the fish has alarmed wildlife officials. Exotic fish compete with local species for food and shelter and can even endanger them.

Lad Akins, executive director of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), suspects that the 16 exotic species were dumped into the water by aquarium owners after the fish grew too big for their tanks or the owners became bored with the fish. "[The fish] are illegal aliens, as both state and federal regulations prohibit introducing nonnative species," Akins told The Miami Herald.

The 16 species found off Florida is a record number of nonnative fish discovered living in an area, according to Brice Semmens, a marine biologist from the University of Washington, who organized the survey. He compared releasing exotic fish to playing Russian roulette with local ecosystems.