The Dive Belize blog shares information about the Belize Lionfish Project:
The increasing numbers of invasive lionfish in the Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage Site and associated reef systems will likely cause additional negative impacts on an already stressed ecosystem affected by overfishing, coral bleaching and ocean acidification. After the first confirmed sighting of a lionfish in Belize in December 2008, ECOMAR began working with the Belize Fisheries Department to raise awareness on the problems that are anticipated as a result of the increasing number of lionfish in the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve Ecosystem.
These actions formed the development of the “Belize Lionfish Project,” an outreach program that is being coordinate by ECOMAR in association with the Belize Fisheries Department, fishing cooperatives, tours guide associations and other NGOs in Belize which are members of the Belize National Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
The Belize Lionfish Project has recently received funding by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) through the Community Management of Protected Areas for Conservation (COMPACT), and Mr. Jeffrey Joseph is the Lionfish Project Coordinator who will be coordinating the activities for the Belize Lionfish Project in 2010.
Read more at Dive Belize, including other posts about the threat the lionfish poses to Belize’s marine environment (particularly the barrier reef) and measures being taken to fight the invasion.
[Photo: divebelize.com]
