Abstract
The European Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species entered into force in 2015, with the aim to fulfill regional and international biodiversity goals in a concerted manner. To date, the Regulation listed 66 Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that are subject to legal controls. Only one of these is marine. A recent lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has been closely monitored in the Mediterranean and a detailed risk assessment was made about the profound impacts that this invasive fish is likely to have on the fisheries and biodiversity of the region. In 2016–21, lionfish rapidly became dominant predators along Eastern Mediterranean coasts, yet the process for their inclusion on the EU IAS list has been lengthy and is ongoing. There is an urgent need to learn from this experience. Here, we recommend improvements to the Regulation 1143/2014 and the risk assessment process to protect marine ecosystems and secure the jobs of people that rely on coastal resources.
Highlights
This article is an open access articleGlobalization and intensification of human activities are driving an accelerating number of non-indigenous species (NIS, known as alien, exotic, introduced, or non-native species) to areas beyond their natural ranges, reshaping local communities and altering ecosystem services [1,2]
The risk assessment concluded with high confidence that there is a high degree of risk associated with the future spread of lionfish in the
In the Mediterranean and identified potential management measures that could be aprisk the assessment pliedThe to limit potentialconcluded damages. with high confidence that there is a high degree of riskwith associated with the future spread lionfish in the
Summary
Globalization and intensification of human activities are driving an accelerating number of non-indigenous species (NIS, known as alien, exotic, introduced, or non-native species) to areas beyond their natural ranges, reshaping local communities and altering ecosystem services [1,2]. A subset of NIS, known as invasive alien species (IAS), have harmful impacts on the economy, environment, and health of the recipient ecosystem [3]. European Seas host the highest number of NIS worldwide with over 800 taxa considered as established [14] The majority of these NIS are found in the Mediterranean Sea where they are spreading rapidly while indigenous species are declining, impairing the function, structure, and integrity of the marine ecosystems [15,16,17,18]. A marine species currently under consideration by the EU for inclusion on the Union list is the lionfish, Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828), first reported in the Mediterranean Sea in 2012 from Lebanon [20] after an unsuccessful invasion attempt in 1991 [21]. Using an ecological model that uses prey consumption and biomass production, Green et al [50] suggested that predation effects of lionfish are nonlinear but begin to occur beyond a particular threshold of predation mortality, impacting on communities with high biomass are unlikely under low lionfish densities
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