Latest Generation of Lionfish-Hunting Robot Can Find and Zap More Fish Than Ever

It's always cool to see lionfish while snorkeling or scuba diving. They're spectacular-looking, and because they're covered in flamboyant spines, they're usually secure enough in their invincibility that they'll mostly just sit there and let you get close to them. Lionfish don't make for very good oceanic neighbors, though, and in places where they're an invasive species and have few native predators (like most of the Atlantic coast of the United States), they do their best to eat anything that moves while breeding almost continuously. A single lionfish per reef reduced young juvenile fish populations by 79 percent in only a five-week period. Many species were affected, including cardinalfish, parrotfish, damselfish, and others.