An Overview Of Our Solution
Little Cayman Community Invasive Lionfish Project
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Oceanos/Costa
Community Type
Suburbano
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: América do Norte
Problem
Describe the problem
To establish a permanent Lionfish(Pterois volitans) culling unit in Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Marine Park. This invasive species threatens the tourism product of the entire Caribbean which affects the 37 million people of the region. The regions tourism product is estimated according to the World Resource Institute to be valued at over (US)$1.2 Billion per year (2002) To date no government has formally mobilized an official response to this event. We hope to be the first community collaborative initiative to prove the effectiveness of culling in a localized area through the use of science, thus providing a model for other affected Caribbean islands to emulate.
Biodiversity Impact
In Little Cayman a localized sustainable fishery is being created as up to 1000 invasive Lionfish can be removed by a small team each month thus providing a 'green' local protein source to residents and resort kitchens. The fishing pressure applied to the invasive lionfish can remove pressure from the island's already-threatened species such as the Nassau grouper. This fishery thus promotes ecosystem health by removing an invasive predator from the reef and simultaneously shifting fishing pressure away from ecologically important native apex predators. The lionfish meat could also be exported to offset costs associated with providing the island with the long-term removal effort. With Lionfish densities in the Caribbean exceeding 450 fish per hectare (Barbour et al 2011) the population is open to sustainable fishing whilst promoting the local biodiversity through the ease of pressure on threatened reef fish.
Solution
Lionfish are indiscriminate and voracious hunters that can remove up to 53 fish and crustaceans per Lionfish each day and reduce native fish recruitment by up to 79% (Albins and Hixon, 2008). This removal of native fish and recruits by the lionfish predation creates a significant threat to the biodiversity in the Marine Park. If island residents can establish a lionfish removal effort in Little Cayman, the Marine Park can maintain its biodiversity on a local scale (Arias and Gonzales, 2011) which is important in order to preserve the ecotourism on which islanders depend. Little Cayman is one of the last remaining spawning areas of the critically endangered Nassau Grouper and it has been shown that the Lionfish do prey on juvenile Nassau Groupers thus putting further pressure on the species. Therefore, any removal effort of Lionfish on the scale of the entire Marine Park will also have positive effects for the local Nassau Grouper population, especially the juvenile recruits.// The Bloody Bay Marine Park extends over 3 miles of reef beginning at the shoreline and down the reef wall and extends over 248 hectares.
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 2 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? No // At this time the culling solution is provided by dedicated volunteers on a weekly basis. However, as this is on a volunteer basis the minimum required effort is not being achieved. I propose a 3 man team of divers working 6 days a week and completing 3 culling dives a day. By removing an average of 10 fish per person per dive a realistic monthly goal of over 1000 fish removed from the Marine Park is possible. Completely stopping the invasion will be impossible, however a permanent long term solution needs to be implemented which will mitigate the effects enough to retain the biodiversity within the park. We currently use spearfishing on SCUBA by trained Divemasters to cull the Lionfish. The spearfishing is combined with our innovative catch-box that we developed which reduces blood released into the water. This one-of-a-kind catch-box limits the attraction of sharks, which hamper the culling efforts. Using this method, divers are able to efficiently capture Lionfish in the safest and fastest way possible.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Marine Park is one of the premier diving locations in the world. The Marine Park is the sole tourist attraction on the island and if the biodiversity of the marine park is lost, a collapse of the tourism product on this island will likely result. At this time the 5 resorts sustain the economy for about 150 permanent residents on the island. However, there is an secondary industry encompassing telecommunications, shipping and public transport which provides the logistical support for the island. This industry is made up of hundreds of people and is worth millions of dollars a year and will be seriously impacted if the eco-tourism to the island were reduced due to Lionfish-mediated impacts to biodiversity. // The Cayman Islands Department of Environment provides the enforcement of marine park rules in that they provide the Lionfish culling licenses and spot check to ensure that no other fish are taken with the licensed spears. Fish are then processed by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute's Little Cayman Research Center to collect stomach contents, gonads as well as the otoliths to determine growth rates which are being analyzed by the University of Florida's Fisheries Department. At this time we are also working with the University of Florida to study the density of Lionfish on the reef and how they are affected by a permanent culling solution (In review Frazer et al 2011). This data when released will show what effort is required to reduce the Lionfish population to maintain biodiversity in a local area. This peer-reviewed scientific information will prove to be extremely valuable by providing a model for other Caribbean islands and communities to emulate in developing their own response to the lionfish invasion, which effects the entire region.