Control of Lionfish in the Mesoamerican Reef

Sharing information, experiences and lessons learned is very important if we want our partners to make informed decisions. With this in mind, the Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund) is implementing a Webinar Series where partners are invited to present results, lessons learnt, experiences and share information regarding projects they have developed with our support.

Key actors and partners from the region and beyond are invited to participate and a Q & A space is open to share thoughts, ideas, and create alliances between the participants that will help replicate initiatives.

The first webinar, with the participation of 38 people from different organizations, was carried out on August 18, 2022 and the goal was to share Blue Ventures (BV) tool for lionfish control, piloted at key protected areas in Belize, with the potential for replication across the MAR. The topics discussed were:

• Background on lionfish native and none-native range
• Characteristics of a successful invader
• Ecological impacts
• Consequences for endemic species
• Belize National Lionfish Management Strategy and Working Group (2019-2023)
• Establishing effective lionfish management in Belize’s fish replenishment zones
• Training and capacity building
• Update lionfish population status (assessment) in Belize protected areas
• Adaptive management
• Lessons learned

The work done by BV in Belize has been possible thanks to your support and for believing in our work. Thank you for supporting us to hunt this predator.

We will keep you posted on any other lionfish topic presented in MAR Fund’s Webinar Series.

The MAR Fund Team.