A species of fish native to Asia, normally cultivated as an ornamental fish, is bringing risks to the Brazilian coast. Invasive and venomous, the lionfish reached the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean and, because there are no natural predators in the Indian Ocean, it is expanding across the Atlantic. 
There are already dozens of records of the species in Fernando de Noronha, for example. In May of this year, the lionfish was recorded for the first time in Maranhão, during an expedition aimed at studying an endangered species. Three more specimens were found, with half a meter in length. For the first time, the species was recorded at a depth of about 70 meters.
Also in May, the Ceará Coastal and Marine Observatory discussed the growth of the species and forwarded preventive measures to municipal secretariats in the state. There, more than 40 animals have already been recorded, with sizes between 14 and 15 cm, all young and found in shallow places, such as traps set in the ground for fishing and natural reefs.
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 the Instituto Chico Mendes de Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). According to Messias, the experiences recorded in the Caribbean to contain the species have only been fishing for the animal.
The female of the animal can produce up to 30,000 eggs.
The lionfish has 18 poisonous spines. The toxin is not lethal, but it can cause severe pain, nausea, and swelling at the site. According to researchers from the Ceará Coastal and Marine Observatory, the lionfish does not represent, so far, a danger to bathers. 70% of the accidents recorded in the Caribbean were related to fishing.
But the species is a predator of other fish and marine invertebrates. According to the Ceará Environment Department, it competes with other native carnivorous fish and can cause environmental and socioeconomic damage.
