DATELINE:11th january 2002

LIONFISH INVADE NEW YORK
Fourteen sightings of lionfish in the Atlantic waters off the East Coast of the US have prompted an investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Two juvenile lionfish were found at Long Island, New York, but most of the sightings have been around the shipwrecks of North Carolina - popular with divers and fishing enthusiasts.
Lionfish are not native to this part of the world and scientists are at a loss to explain how the tropical fish got there. NOAA is relying upon help from divers and fishermen to determine whether the presence of the lionfish is a temporary phenomena or a long-term invasion.
NOAA has two major concerns: the lionfish may endanger native species; and that divers or others who are unaware of their poisonous nature may be tempted to handle them.

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