Imagine a fisherman pulling up his net and finding a fish that looks almost too beautiful to be dangerous. Its red-and-white stripes fan out like feathers, its fins spread like a tiny underwater crown, and its spines make it look more like an ornamental creature than a threat. But there is a problem: this fish is not supposed to be here.Off the coast of Porto Seguro, in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, the lionfish has become the target of an unusual campaign. Instead of paying fishers for a conventional catch, the local government is paying them to remove an invasive predator from the sea. At least 440 lionfish have been caught, Mongabay reported and researchers are examining hundreds of them to understand what they have been eating.The urgency is not just about one fish or one stretch of coastline. The lionfish has already caused ecological damage in parts of the Caribbean and the wider Atlantic. Now its presence has been confirmed at Brazil’s Abrolhos reefs, a marine ecosystem known for its extraordinary biodiversity. Scientists are still determining how widespread the invasion is there, but the arrival has raised an uncomfortable question: what happens when a predator enters a new ocean where the local fish have few defences against it?
Why is Brazil paying fishers to catch lionfish?
Since August 2026, Porto Seguro’s local government has been offering fishers 10 Brazilian reais, or roughly US$1.90, for each lionfish they catch and deliver to the local fishing association, Colônia Z-22.The campaign is a response to the rapid spread of a species that can threaten native fish populations and the livelihoods built around them. Researchers at the Federal University of Southern Bahia have examined the stomach contents of 430 captured lionfish to identify their prey and better understand their impact on local marine life.The strategy has two purposes. Removing lionfish can help limit their numbers in priority areas, while examining the captured animals gives scientists information about their diet, size and potential effects on the ecosystem.But this is not a simple case of catching enough fish and declaring victory. Lionfish reproduce quickly, can occupy different marine habitats and have spread across a vast stretch of the western Atlantic. Scientists have warned that once an invasive marine species becomes established, complete eradication can be extremely difficult.A 2023 study in the Journal of Environmental Management documented lionfish across eight Brazilian states between 2020 and 2023, with records spanning thousands of kilometres of coastline. The researchers called for coordinated monitoring, rapid responses and a national management plan. The latest effort in Bahia is taking place against that larger backdrop.
The fish comes from another ocean. Why is it thriving here?
Lionfish, including Pterois volitans, are native to the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. In their natural range, they exist as part of a marine food web shaped by thousands of years of ecological relationships.Lionfish also have venomous spines that deter potential attackers. Their striking appearance may attract divers and aquarium enthusiasts, but their biology makes them a formidable invader when introduced to a new ecosystem.The precise route by which lionfish first entered Atlantic waters is not fully established. Researchers have suggested that aquarium releases played a role in the original invasion in the western North Atlantic, although Brazil’s more recent expansion has also been linked to the movement of established populations through the region.The consequences are not theoretical. In research published in Scientific Reports in 2016, scientists found that invasive lionfish had reduced the abundance of a native forage fish, the tomtate, by 45% in affected areas off the southeastern United States. Earlier experiments in the Bahamas found that the presence of a single lionfish on small patch reefs reduced the recruitment of native fish by an average of 79% over five weeks.