"Evil" might be a little strong. It is a beautiful fish that in it's proper enviroment (the Pacific rim), has a place and is a great find for divers.
Whether from Hurricane Andrew or some mis-guided individual tired of their aquarium fish. It was first spotted on the east coast and in the Bahamas around 2004, my wife saw one while we were diving in Grand Bahama Island in the spring of 2004 and the DM and I tried to convince her she was mistaken...turns out we were. :shocked2:
It has now spread as far north as New England and obviously as far west as Coz., I don't read a lot of the other Caribbean forums so, I'm not sure how far and reaching the infestation has taken a hold on the Caribbean and Atlantic.
Has anyone heard of them being in the Caymans, Dominica or off Hispaniola? Surly they had to come through there to make it to Coz. If not, then I would surmise that the Cozumel lionfish are from a completely different source, possibly an aquarium release on the Yucatan.
Some good news is that scientists are finding that some eels and larger grouper are eating them, when it was first belived they had no natural preditors at all.