Abstract

The first sighting of lionfish (Pterois volitans) in Costa Rican Caribbean reefs (April 2009), prompted immediate re-sponses from academia, government, and local communities. Since 2009, five stages of management have been applied. The first effort, led by the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) of the Environment Ministry (MINAE), established an Inter-institutional Task Force, which was based on local decision-making by resource managers; there was technical support by academia, but little to none active collaboration from local communities. The second moment was a 2-year hiatus in decision-making and action-taking, with no SINAC staff in charge of local efforts and data collection. Simultaneously, fishing communities started formalizing their standing as an organization, until the South Caribbean Artisanal Fishers’ As-sociation (APACS) was created in August 2011. During the third stage (2013 – August 2015), the Viceministry of Waters and Seas reactivated the task force, as a National Commission on Lionfish Control (NCLC), a multi-sectorial entity over-viewing control, research, and impact mitigation. National and regional strategic plans were developed. Currently, control efforts are led by APACS, supported by NGO funding. An ongoing fourth step expands initiative towards international co-operation, preparations for a potential expansion threatening Central American Pacific waters, with preventive and early-response management Plan for the Pacific coast. Fifth stage: starting September 2015, NCLC will be legally formalized and its leadership returned to SINAC. The three latter phases were possible by the local communities’ strong drive and im-proved means of intersectoral communication.

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