{"id":8166,"date":"2013-07-12T11:05:19","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T15:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=8166"},"modified":"2013-07-12T11:05:19","modified_gmt":"2013-07-12T15:05:19","slug":"belize-to-export-invasive-species-lionfish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=8166","title":{"rendered":"Belize to export invasive species, lionfish"},"content":{"rendered":"

9th July 2013, Placencia, Belize<\/strong> – Along Belize’s world heritage site-listed barrier reef, coastal communities are making waves in fight against a rapacious predator.<\/p>\n

At 11am on Tuesday, 2 July, the first box of filleted invasive lionfish left Belize international airport bound for Minneapolis, Minnesota.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Its contents: 5.2 kg of the invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans, a species that poses one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of coral reefs and fisheries throughout the Caribbean region.<\/p>\n

[singlepic id=941 w=320 h=240 float=left]<\/p>\n

First released accidentally into the Caribbean near Florida by aquarists in the 1980s, the predatory fish from the Indo-Pacific has no natural predators in the Atlantic, and an exploding population is steadily eating its way across the entire Caribbean Sea. From the Bahamas to Barbados, coral reefs \u2013 and the traditional fisheries they support \u2013 are now under siege from this unforeseen threat.<\/p>\n

(Above) A lionfish’s stomach contents, including a juvenile blue tang, a species protected from fishing on account of its ecological importance to Belize\u2019s reefs:\u00a0 as a herbivore, it prevents corals from becoming smothered by algae. Picture \u00a9 Blue Ventures<\/i><\/p>\n

While complete eradication of this destructive fish is now impossible, consistent, high-volume removal efforts may halt population growth, diminishing the devastating threat the species poses to native fish populations.<\/p>\n

On Belize\u2019s World Heritage<\/a> listed Barrier Reef Reserve System<\/a>, efforts are now underway to do just that. Conservationists and communities are working together to confront the lion in its den, by cultivating a new international export market for this surprisingly delicious fish; a prospect that Blue Ventures has been exploring within the domestic and international spheres since 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis market-based approach to the lionfish challenge has the potential to be replicated across the entire Caribbean region<\/em>\u201d, says Jennifer Chapman<\/a>, Belize Country Coordinator for Blue Ventures \u201cIt represents a scalable solution to the problems lionfish pose to both reefs and fisheries.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

[singlepic id=943 w=320 h=240 float=right]<\/p>\n

The development of a market for lionfish has been heralded as the most feasible and practical fisheries management solution, providing much-needed systematic reduction of lionfish in Belizean waters, whilst diversifying fisheries and reducing the pressure on already overexploited native stocks.<\/p>\n

(Above) Lionfish can be speared or captured using traditional lobster hooks. Without a Fisheries \u2018Lionfish Licence\u2019, it is illegal to spearfish within protected areas or on SCUBA. Picture \u00a9 Gordon Kirkwood<\/i><\/p>\n

Thanks to efforts by the Placencia Producers\u2019 Cooperative Society Ltd and US sustainable seafood distributor, Traditional Fisheries<\/a>, facilitated and supported by Blue Ventures, the Placencia Cooperative\u2019s new processing facility was awarded US Food and Drug Administration<\/a> (FDA) certification on June 26th 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very excited about taking the first shipment here out of Belize\u2026 Right now the majority of our clients are high-end restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Chicago and Houston.<\/em>\u201d said David Johnson, CEO of Traditional Fisheries, \u201cWe\u2019d love to the <\/em>local demand for lionfish grow<\/em> and really make a difference in the Caribbean<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

[singlepic id=942 w=320 h=240 float=left]<\/p>\n

(Left) Left to right:Justino Mendez, Operations Manager, Placencia Cooperative, Jennifer Chapman, Blue Ventures Belize Coordinator, David Johnson, CEO, Traditional Fisheries, in front of Belize\u2019s first lionfish facility. Picture \u00a9 Justino Mendez<\/i><\/p>\n

With this certification the Placencia Cooperative facility becomes the first of its kind to process lionfish in Belize, and on its inaugural day in operation, 599 invasive lionfish were prepared both as fillets and whole fish, including the first shipment to the United States, to sell to the clients of Traditional Fisheries.<\/p>\n

\u201cLionfish is not only a business for Placencia and [the cooperative\u2019s] members<\/em>\u201d, said Justino Mendez of the Placencia Producers\u2019 Cooperative Society Ltd, \u201cit is the business of the entire country; from Sarteneja all the way to Punta Gorda.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

[singlepic id=944 w=320 h=240 float=right]<\/p>\n

The cooperative\u2019s new facility is now entering a quality-assurance period, during which time the export volume is forecast to grow substantially. Blue Ventures is continuing to provide safe-handling training to fishers and processing plant staff. Plans to expand the local market include convening several outreach, education and taster events throughout Belize in coming months.<\/p>\n

(Above) The first batch of lionfish processed in the Placencia Cooperatives\u2019 facility. Picture \u00a9 Lee Mcloughlin <\/i><\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9th July 2013, Placencia, Belize – Along Belize’s world heritage site-listed barrier reef, coastal communities are making waves in fight against a rapacious predator.
\nAt 11am on Tuesday, 2 July, the first box of filleted invasive lionfish left Belize international airport bound for Minneapolis, Minnesota.
\nIts contents: 5.2 kg of the invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans, a species that poses one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of coral reefs and fisheries throughout the Caribbean region.
\n[singlepic id=941 w=320 h=240 float=left]
\nFirst released accidentally into the Caribbean near Florida by aquarists in the 1980s, the predatory fish from the Indo-Pacific has no natural predators in the Atlantic, and an exploding population is steadily eating its way across the entire Caribbean Sea. From the Bahamas to Barbados, coral reefs \u2013 and the traditional fisheries they support \u2013 are now under siege from this unforeseen threat.
\n(Above) A lionfish’s stomach contents, including a juvenile blue tang, a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,12,60,7,43,171,90,172,176,40,45,56,82,3,154,100,11,32],"tags":[414,416,165,412,164,413,415],"class_list":["post-8166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aow","category-artificial-reefs","category-conservation","category-dm","category-diver","category-divetalking-2","category-earth","category-education","category-extinction","category-featured","category-fish","category-lionfish","category-ocean","category-ow","category-preservation","category-products","category-reefs","category-reference","tag-belize-exporting-lionfish","tag-exporting-lionfish","tag-lion-fish","tag-lion-fish-belize","tag-lionfish-2","tag-lionfish-belize","tag-lionfish-exports"],"yoast_head":"\nBelize to export invasive species, lionfish - Divetalking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=8166\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belize to export invasive species, lionfish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=8166\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-12T15:05:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=8166#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=8166\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/02d5721103fd9d171fcc8cfb74d80947\"},\"headline\":\"Belize to export invasive species, lionfish\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-12T15:05:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=8166\"},\"wordCount\":696,\"keywords\":[\"Belize Exporting Lionfish\",\"exporting lionfish\",\"lion fish\",\"Lion fish Belize\",\"lionfish\",\"Lionfish Belize\",\"lionfish exports\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Adv. 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