Volume 63

Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) Control Strategies in the Caribbean UK Overseas Territories (Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos).


Authors
Johnson, B., S. Gore, and K. Lockhart
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Date: November, 2010


Pages: 331-333


Event: Proceedings of the Sixty-Third Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute


City: San Juan


Country: Puerto Rico

Abstract

The Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans), native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, has invaded the Western Atlantic and more recently the Caribbean. While the lionfish has biological characteristics that provide advantages over native Atlantic fish species, and which predisposes it to rapid proliferation, most countries in the region lack the human and financial resources to effectively control this new invader. In 2009, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) offered financial assistance to the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos jointly to assist in their control efforts on this invasive species. In the Cayman Islands, the responsibility for conservation of marine resources lies with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment. The Departments efforts on lionfish control are focused on conservation management, research, raising public awareness, equipment, and volunteer training. This paper will highlight key elements of the efforts currently underway in the Cayman Islands with further examples from the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos.

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