Reginald: What part of do you come from? doing university assigment for me Lionfish are native to tropical Indo-Pacific waters and were first introduced into the Atlantic by humans in the 1990s. The thriving population has caused some serious concerns in the Atlantic as they have voracious appetites, gobbling up native fish and competing with other species for food resources. An earlier study by the University showed that lionfish in the Atlantic have been known to reduce native fish populations by up to 80 percent.