The Belize Lionfish Project:
A Local Response to a Regional Problem
ECOMAR, the Belize Fisheries Department and other partners work with stakeholders in Belize to manage the invasive lionfish.  Lionfish are expected to negatively impact an already stressed coral reef which has experienced pressures from over fishing and global warming.  The concern is that the lionfish will reduce the number of native fish and lobster that traditional fishermen can catch.  The project received initial funding from COMPACT and GCFI. The film describing the project was produced by Richard & Carol Foster from Wildlife Film Productions in Belize.
Picture
Courtesy http://lionfish.gcfi.org/ and USGS NAS
For the most recent distribution visit the USGS NAS page
​(United States Geological Survey Nonindigenous Aquatic Species)

Why Lionfish
​Pose a Threat

Lionfish are an introduced, or invasive, tropical marine fish that is originally native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean, but have now become part of the marine life throughout the Wider Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean.  Lionfish spread quickly in its new range, as the map below illustrates.

The problem is lionfish are eating all of our native reef fish and scientists are concerned that our already stressed fisheries and coral reef ecosystems will become even more stressed if lionfish are not kept in control.  

Our goal is to manage lionfish by overfishing them, and eating them!  Divers and fishermen are catching them to eat and selling them to restaurants. They taste like any other fish and make great ceviche, fried fish, fish balls, soup or tacos!