Climate Action Honduras Project #8274

Control of Lionfish in the Mesoamerican Reef

by Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund)

Project Report | May 29, 2019
Getting more people involved

By Ximena Flamenco | Project Officer II

and the Hunt begins

The NGO Bay Islands Conservation Association-UTILA (BICA-Utila), manager of the Turtle Harbour Rock Harbour Special Marine Protection Zone in Honduras, developed the XIII Lionfish Derby.

In January all preparation began, a workshop was developed for licensing for lionfish hunting through which five people were licensed. Activities to promote the derby were carried out and resulted in 10 more divers being licensed to participate.

To get even none-divers involved BICA-Utila developed two dissection workshop to train 37 participants in data collection, so all specimens collected could be analyzed.

When the time came, 63 competitors got listed, distributed into 16 teams from different dive schools and one conservation organization. Working together they were able to capture a total of 277 individuals. In collaboration, with seven students, community member, the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Centre (WSORC), KANAHAU, the Bay Island Foundation, Parrots Dive Center and Centro Universitario Regional del Litoral Atlántico (CURLA) all individual caught where dissected. This information helps the NGO to continue feeding their database that contributes to generating information, thus supporting decision making towards an effective management for the control and mitigation of this invasive species.

All individuals after being dissected were filleted obtaining a total of 48 pounds of fillet. The fillets were delivered to five restaurants (Neptune’s at Coral Beach Village, Islanders, The Venue, Mango Inn Bar and Grill and Mr. Peter’s Goods), who feeling the competitive thrive, participated in the “Lionfish Cook Off”, a competition for the best lionfish dish, which allows restaurants to publicize their culinary options, showcasing their different dishes created from this delicious fish.

All of this has been able, thanks to your support in fighting this deadly predator

Thank you for being part of this fight

The MAR Fund Team

Lionfish

Data collection

The catch

Cook-off participants

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Feb 28, 2019
Launching the Lionfish National Strategy in Belize

By Ximena Flamenco | Project Officer

Nov 30, 2018
Strengthening the work in Punta de Manabique, Guatemala

By Ximena Flamenco | Project Officer II

Support continues in Punta de Manabique Wildlife Refuge, Guatemala, the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP), jointly with Seeds of the Ocean (SDO) and the Center for Sea Studies and Aquaculture (CEMA), presented a project called “Sustainable actions for the management, reduction and consumption incentive of the lionfish invasive species Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Caribbean of Guatemala”.

This project aims to establish actions that allow the control, management and reduction of the lionfish, as well as encouraging the consumption of the species in the Caribbean of Guatemala and the establishment of the National Lionfish Committee that creates a space for decision making and promote the implementation of the National Lionfish Strategy for the Caribbean of Guatemala.

The objectives of this phase are:

Establish the National Strategy and the National Committee of Lionfish P. volitans for the Caribbean of Guatemala.
Apply control and reduction measures, through periodic extractions of Lionfish P. volitans on the reefs of "Bajón" and "Motagüilla" in the Punta de Manabique Wildlife Refuge.
Make a record of the meristic and morphological characters of the extracted Lionfish that support decision making for the management and control of the species.
Encourage the consumption of Lionfish in Puerto Barrios, through a gastronomic event, with the participation of the Women's Group of the El Quetzalito Community.

The knowledge acquire through this project will help the area manager understand this species behavior better and make informed decisions in regards to its control.

All funding provided has been able thanks to your support and engagement with our projects.

May this holiday season be fill with joy and love!

We´ll keep you posted on how this project is developed.

Happy Holidays

The MAR Fund Team.

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