Lionfish continue to infest Negril

Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:The Negril Resort Board will write to the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) about the proliferation of lionfish in its waters and seek an update on whether the agency has any measures planned to combat the lionfish infestation.

The decision came after Sabine Bolenius of Dream Team Divers told the recent monthly meeting of the board, among other things, that a guest had been stung recently by a lionfish at one of the major all-inclusive hotels in the resort town.

"They paid quite a bit of money to get treatment because it is extremely painful. It is affecting this stretch now; it is not only the cliffs," she said.

Bolenius also called for the NEPA to give an updated report on the lionfish in the Negril coastal area as she said the agency's last report dated back to 2010.

no one diving

"I am very happy to assist with that because NEPA has nobody here doing diving. The problem is we cannot completely kill them. It has to be an ongoing project. It cannot be one big session where a year or two later, you have them all grown back. There has to be an effort which, I believe, has to include all stakeholders because this is killing the reef," she said.

The representative from the NEPA who was present at the meeting could not give the requisite update on the matter.

This is the second consecutive time Bolenius has raised the issue of lionfish at the Negril Resort Board meeting. Last December, the dive master expressed grave concern about the growing number of lionfish that were being spotted off the west end coast in the resort town.

At the time, she warned hoteliers to be vigilant as the lionfish could cause injury to unsuspecting swimmers, including guests, as they were "taking over the reef", and on a daily basis, she had seen as many as 40 lionfish during one dive session, which lasts for 40 minutes.

She had also said that a more organised and concentrated effort was needed due to the tendency of the lionfish to devour all types of fish and sea creatures, which could decimate the island's fish population.

venomous spines

A document on the lionfish, prepared by the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 2011, noted that the creatures, although edible, have venomous spines, which they use to defend themselves from becoming prey to other fish and which are also capable of inflicting a very painful sting to humans.

It noted that the lionfish preys on juvenile fish and shellfish and the predator was capable of consuming large quantities of fish and shellfish daily and could negatively affect fish stocks. The UWI report said the creatures reproduced all year round in the Caribbean and that a female lionfish was capable of producing two million eggs each year.

It noted that the creatures, "for many reasons, were released into the canals and seas and set free after they grew too large for aquariums owned by aquaria enthusiasts, mainly in the United States, who had imported them for their homes and offices. Since then, they have made their way along the East Coast of the US, Jamaica, and other Caribbean countries".

Just recently, researchers at the University of North Carolina announced that lionfish, which are alien to the Caribbean, were threatening local fish populations and were eating marine predators such as sharks and barracudas and that "mother nature appears unable to control its impact on local reef fish".