Worst. Marine. Invasion. Ever. Prized as pets for their mesmerizing beauty, an aquarium keeper’s dream has become an environmental nightmare as legions of venomous, voracious lionfish are now guzzling up fish and further endangering coral reefs throughout the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Researchers, inventors, divers and fishers are urgently trying to find new ways to stem the tide of these undersea marauders.

This episode was produced by Anisa Khalifa and Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Matt Horton and Sean Roux mastered the audio.

Our thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.