From an NPR article, they mention that another invasive species is ruining the ecosystem, and that it probably was from Aquarium owners who ‘unleashed’ their fish into the ocean.
In almost every one of these types of articles, they usually mention that exotic pet owners were the source of the problem.
Why is this? Who would dump a Lionfish in their aquarium into the ocean? Why? There must have been enough dumped in the same spot and time to allow a breeding population to grow.
They don’t want it, they dont want to take the trouble to find someone who does want it, and they don’t want to kill it since that would make them feel bad. Also, the kind of people who don’t bother to find out whether getting an exotic pet was really a good idea turns out to be the same people who don’t bother to find out if it’s really a good idea to dump non-native species in nature.
They may have dumped a breeding pair.
Basically, they get tired of the fish and want to get rid of it, but can’t be bothered to return it and are too squeamish to kill it. It’s the same reason why people throw their lit cigarette butts out their car window instead of stubbing them out in the ashtray, or dumping litter instead of walking to a trashcan.
I’ll take “Lazy and stupid” for $200 Alex.
Some exotic pet releases are accidental. Some pets can escape (though obviously fish aren’t one of those). A major natural disaster (say, Sandy or Katrina as good recent examples) can even put fish into the environment.
But, unfortunately, most of the releases are just people who think too small. They don’t want to put forth the effort of finding a new owner for unwanted pets, and they don’t want to be “cruel” by euthanizing the pet. So they compromise by releasing their pets into the wild and feel like they’ve done their good deed for the day when they’re actually creating the potential for untold hazards.
It’s even possible that the dump was an irresponsible breeder or dealer. (With controlled species, maybe a smuggler dumping animals to avoid being caught with them.) Such a person would be dumping dozens of animals, giving you a nice breeding population in a jiffy.
Sometimes they just hitch a ride on a boat. Here is a story about a boat from the Japan tsunami that transported some fish 5000 miles.
Invasive species can also be transported between streams and lake by small boats that are not properly cleaned between transport to other locations.
Sometimes it’s also a fish that gets flushed down the toilet when the owner thinks it was dead, but in reality it was just pining for the fjords, and it gets better.
As the Straight Dope points out often enough, stupidity is very strong within the beast known as human. Some people speculate that the snakefish was deliberately released to water sources because in some parts of Asia its considered a decent food source. I won’t link, because taking the concept too seriously smacks of racism – “Oh, 'dem foreigners are ruining our trout fishing with their killer fish.” However, how often do we all think about the ecological implications of our actions? Imagine you heard it once in junior high school, and never went to high school or college. Or imagine it was never taught to you at school. Or you missed that day. Or that week, or month bringing in crops or moving from another country. This isn’t something that’s logical – fish go in the water, and are food for other fish. It seems so obvious, and its so wrong. The water hyacinth is a pretty flower – how can it possibly be a billion dollar pest that clogs waterways – you ever been blocked from crossing a lawn by dandelions?
My guess is ignorance and apathy.
I was never told about invasive species until I was an undergrad in the late 1970s.
It is entirely possible that people of my cohort are truly unaware of the danger and, if corrected, will discount the possibility of their little pet causing any problems.
I just got back from Red Rocks Park in Revere, MA. There’s a sign there specifically telling you not to release unwanted aquarium fish into the ocean there. (I seriously doubt any non-native species likely to be in an amateur aquarium would be able to survive the breakers at Red Rocks, but you never can tell).
Heck, introducing invasive species used to be actually encouraged. Consider, for example, the childrens’ book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. At the end, the government wants him to introduce his penguins in the frozen North, because they figure penguins would probably do well there. Well, maybe, but how will all the other species already present there take it?
Another source turned out to be the balast water of big ocean transport ships. That was a case of thinking only of intent and not of unintended ramifications. What they intended to take on was water.
I’ve heard that now the rule is to dump and replace balast water out at sea, to keep from connecting two bay communities. No clue what the exact rule is or how good the adherance is.
kudzu was intro’d to the US south to stop erosion.
well it worked and now near anything native is choked out, and its spreading, its been found as far north as IN now.
and look at the nasty nutria intro’d in LA and how out on control they are.
hey 8nstead of shooting all the wolves in the northwest they should just move them to LA to hunt nutria
LA already has coyotes. It would be easier to work with them.
I belong to a gardening site where, about once a year or so, some idiot posts WANTING kudzu, convinced that he or she will be the one person who can control the damned stuff.