b'Lionfi sh have invaded the Mediterranean, and in a big way. They are multiplying out of control in that region much like they did in the Caribbean starting around 20 years ago. Dr. Aylin Ulman, the incentive expert for the United Nations Development Programme on Marine Invasive Alien Species in Turkey, contacted us at Lionfi sh University for support in creating strategies to help control the invasion there. Lionfi sh University is a 501c3 non-profi t with a focus on reef conservation through programs in education, awareness, and research. We rallied our very experienced and knowledgeable science team to provide advice and guidance on what works and what doesnt work to control invasive lionfi sh.And although there are diff erences between the invasions in the Caribbean and in the Mediterranean, the consensus is that the science will transfer. One of the big diff erences is the way the invasions started in each area. In the Caribbean it likely started by aquarium owners dumping their unwanted EAST MEETS WEST lionfi sh into the ocean offthe coast of Florida. Those fi sh survived the transit from the Indo-Pacifi c through the By Stacy Frank and Jim Hartaquarium trade, and the fi sh that made it were likely very hardy. In the Mediterranean however, lionfi sh invaded directly from their native Indo-Pacifi c region through the Suez Canal and havent been selectively strengthened. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the two invasions as the Mediterranean invasion grows.'