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Posted on Mon,
07/25/2011
(CNS): The infestation of lionfish on the Cayman Islands
reefs, which has been described in the Legislative
Assembly as “a national emergency”, is threatening the
diving industry in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman,
according to the Sister Islands Tourism Association
(SITA). A removal programme for the lionfish within
Bloody Bay Marine Park in Little Cayman has been in
place since January this year, thanks to the assistance
of volunteer divers from that island, but SITA members
are now requesting funds from government for a formal
and more aggressive culling policy. Meanwhile,
scientists at the Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC)
are currently conducting the first formal assessment of
the impact of lionfish culling.
Since January dive operations on Little Cayman have been
sending out one dive boat per week at their own expense
each Wednesday afternoon with several teams of volunteer
divers to cull lionfish in the Bloody Bay Marine Park.
However, SITA told the minister, "We believe that the
only way to slow this problem down is for teams of
divers to cull lionfish on a full time basis. Clearly,
this cannot be done on a once per week basis by
volunteers during their spare time. Action needs to be
taken immediately by the Government, a private company,
or a combination of the two.”
Estimating the start-up cost of a culling operation on
each island at US$98,000 and annual operating costs to
amount to US$136,900 for each operation, SITA said, “Our
proposal would be an effective way of controlling
lionfish populations at a much more extensive level than
just a few localized areas. We are confident that the
proposal would help control lionfish populations on all
the reefs around the Sister Islands." Annual operating
costs could be supplemented by the sale of lionfish
fillets to Sister Islands restaurants, SITA noted.
In his contribution to the budget debate in June, First
Elected Member for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Moses
Kirkconnell, said that stakeholders in the Sister
Islands considered the lionfish invasion a national
emergency. “If something is not done soon to curtail
this lionfish invasion, we will all expect the continued
degradation of the reef itself, which will soon lead to
permanent damage for the economy in both [Sister]
islands,” he told MLAs.
Noting that there was a need to form a national policy,
he said the Cayman Islands would be “the only country
that has stepped up to the plate, made a commitment and
put ourselves forward to keep our reefs pristine and
ensure that part of our tourism industry continues to be
vibrant and works for our local economy.”
In the Lionfish Removal Effort Assessment, researchers
at the Little Cayman Research Centre, which is owned and
operated by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI),
are looking at how many lionfish exist within the
boundaries of Bloody Bay Marine Park, whether the
culling programme is effectively reducing the number of
lionfish in Bloody Bay Marine Park, how effective are
divers at removing the lionfish with spears and/or nets
and how much effort is needed to reduce lionfish numbers.
The lionfish have been present in Little Cayman since
2009 and CCMI says anecdotal reports indicate that their
size and numbers have been increasing steadily over the
past three years. The aim of CCMI researchers is to
collect the necessary data to offer information on the
actual impact the weekly culls are having on the
lionfish population. Each week lionfish population
density data will be collected at specific dive sites
before they are culled, and there will also be a few
control sites with no culling to establish baseline
lionfish numbers. The data collected during this project
will then be used to complete a formal assessment of the
current management plan in place and inform management
decisions in the future.
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