Lionfish – The Growing Menace in Jamaican Reefs : Forest R.

Lionfish have arrived in ever-increasing numbers around the island of Jamaica.  Most marine scientists believe that lionfish entered Caribbean waters after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, when at least six lionfish “escaped” from an aquarium into the open sea.  The red lionfish, (Pterois volitans), migrated southward throughout the Caribbean Sea.  By 2006, the reefs around Jamaica became a safe harbour for this very invasive species of fish.  Now, in 2010, almost every reef in Jamaica has uncounted numbers of lionfish flourishing at the expense of smaller marine fish, shrimp, crabs and other crustaceans.  Studies have shown that one lionfish can consume 20 to 30 smaller reef fish in less than an hour.  All the lionfish has to do is wave its mesmerizing, feather-like fins, and smaller reef fish are lured to the lionfish’s waiting mouth.

Unless some measures are taken now, Jamaica’s reefs and living treasures of the sea will be forever changed.  Jamaican reefs are already in a very fragile and vulnerable condition, given problems of coastal pollution, over-fishing and shore-line development.  The lionfish could add a death blow to many of the Jamaican and other Caribbean reef fish unless actions are taken NOW to impede or reduce their numbers. While there are no easy solutions or quick fixes to this growing lionfish menace, there are some actions being taken to awaken public interest regarding the exponential growth of lionfish populations in Jamaican reefs. 

On April 30, 2010, the White River Fisherman’s Coop held its annual fish fry, and this year served fried and steamed lionfish to community members, Group 81 U.S. Peace Corps trainees, and other guests.  Earlier that morning, Group 81 environmental Peace Corps trainees heard a presentation by Mel Tennant on turtle monitoring.  Dr. Dayne Buddo from the Centre for Marine Sciences, University of West Indies, also provided remarks on invasive marine species and the related release of foreign vessels’ ballast water in Jamaican ports.  The Jamaican Marine Symposium held at Couples Sans Souci concluded with a demonstration by Nakle Hado on the safe handling and cleaning of captured lionfish. 

Each of the U.S. Peace Corps trainees present was given the opportunity to carefully cut off a lionfish’s poisonous spines with scissors and then scale and clean the fish. The key to cleaning lionfish is to carefully remove all their poisonous dorsal and anal spines, and then safely dispose of the poisonous spines.  It is important to remember that lionfish can inflict a very painful “sting” with each of these poisonous spines.  If injected with lionfish venom, immediately apply hot water to the affected area and seek medical attention. 

Another effort to raise public awareness of the lionfish explosion in Jamaican reefs was held in Negril, Jamaica from May 20-22, 2010.  Teams of local Jamaican fishermen competed to see how many lion fish they could catch during the three day competition.  Negril resorts, hotels and private organizations provided awards for the fishermen who caught the most lionfish.  By Saturday evening when the awards were presented, 1,446 lionfish of varying sizes had been caught by all the fishermen.  Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries was introduced at the awards ceremony by Dr. Charles Eyles, Chairman of the Montego Bay Marine Park Trust.  In his introduction, Dr. Eyles noted that: “…lionfish numbers have grown exponentially in Jamaican reefs.  After eighteen months to two years, one lionfish can spawn up to 30,000 eggs at least twice a year, and with few predators, lionfish survival rates are very high.” (Photo below) Dr. Tufton inspects a lionfish while Brian Zane, Manager of the Montego Bay Marine Park Trust looks on.)

Then, Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries spoke to assembled fishermen, hotel guests and concerned Jamaicans.  He noted the growing menace of lionfish in Jamaican reefs, the need to curb or control their numbers, and the reality that lionfish are safe and tasty to eat once their poisonous spines have been removed.  Dr. Tufton even suggested that more medical research might be conducted on the lionfish, (and other members of the Scorpionfish family, Scorpaenidae), in hopes that lionfish venom might be used to treat certain cancers and other serious medical conditions.  Certainly, related research with marine cone snail venom has shown great promise in the treatment of certain cancers and neurological disorders.

 So, the next time you have the opportunity, attend one of the Jamaican lionfish hunts, tentatively scheduled in Montego Bay and other reef locales.  Plan to see hundreds of lionfish caught during each such culling effort. The lionfish will range in size from a few inches (juveniles) to those as large as 15 inches.   Record-size lionfish can be up to 18 inches long and weigh up to 2.6 pounds.  While such culling events will undoubtedly focus attention on the growing lionfish menace, there seem to be few measures and mechanisms currently in place to effectively control or contain the explosion of lionfish throughout the Caribbean.  The few known natural predators in Jamaican reefs, such as Nassau groupers (Epinephelus striatus Bloch, 1792), are too few in number to stem the lionfish invasion.  Attempts to net lionfish can be very difficult, too, since red lionfish often descend to depths of 260 feet or hide under reef shelves.

You can help.  As a plea to all marine biologists and other scientists, fishermen and other concerned Jamaicans, submit your ideas on effective ways to curb or control the explosion of lionfish in Jamaican and other Caribbean waters.  We promise to post some of your best ideas on our website: www. mbmp.org.

Tub of Trouble – Lionfish caught off Negril, Jamaica.

Sandy W. – Globetrotter

Merhaba, Turkish fi Wha Gwaan, After floating in Cleopatra’s Pool, hot air ballooning, sleeping in a cave and visiting ancient cities I can positively endorse the Peace Corps life! A major emphasis of Peace Corps objectives calls for cultural exchange. I quickly learned that Jamaica’s cultural ambassador is Bob Marley. The first comment after establishing the fact that I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica caused most Turks to smile broadly and say “Oh, Bob Marley!”

I had the opportunity to partake in the culure exchange by making a most energetic and concerted effort to sample all Turkish vegetarian food. The youghurt, tomates, cucumbers, cheeses and pistachio baklava were the best I have EVER eaten, except for Dad’s baklava. Yes, the tomatoes were even better than the Jamaican variety by just a likkle bit. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is head and shoulders above the Turkish Coffee though. In fact, instant Nescafe was the main coffee. My disappointment at this state of affairs was quickly relieved by Turkish Apple Tea, the National drink. Oh and yes, the plums and tangerines were even better than Harry and David….

Peace Corps and PEPA, a Longstanding Partnership

The Portland Environment Protection Association (PEPA) ( http://pepa-jamaica.org/ )was founded in 1988 by citizens of Portland concerned about the increasing amount of environmental degradation around them. PEPA is a legally constituted non-profit, limited liability company; we are a non-political, Non-Government Organization who serves as an umbrella organization for over fifty (50) Community Based Organizations and groups across the parish of Portland. Our membership includes community groups, youth groups, fishermen’s organizations, environment protection associations as well as civic associations and individuals.

Our mission is “To promote public awareness and action to protect the environment: to ensure the wise use of natural resources for sustainable development”, and PEPA has been working with organizations of all types to establish a resource management ethos across Portland for both marine & terrestrial ecosystems of the parish

The Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) programme has been integral in the development of the Portland Environment and Protection Association (PEPA) for over twenty years. Volunteers have played a critical role in the establishment of all PEPA’s activities and programmes from the monumental to the mundane; PCVs have assisted with a wide range of activities from the drafting of the management plan for the proposed Port Antonio Marine Park to the networking of the office computers.

PEPA’s excellent track record in environmental education has been enhanced through the active and profound involvement of the PCVs who have contributed to the venture by assisting with the establishment of an Environmental Resource Library, conducting of teacher training workshops and delivery of environmental education to schools and community groups by the use of PowerPoint presentations and other innovative teaching techniques.  Teachers and students have benefited from the development of resource materials by volunteers that are designed to aid in the simple, clear and factual delivery of environmental education that also ties in with the school’s environmental curriculum.

The book “Biodiversity Lesson Plans: Lesson plans for primary grades 3-6” was written by a Peace Corp Volunteer and was reviewed and accepted by The Ministry of Education as an excellent supporting document for teachers in Primary Schools; other teaching aid manuals were developed and distributed to schools in Portland over the years.

Environmental Club programmes have also been strengthened in various schools across the parish through the active involvement of the volunteers in this important endeavor. Several inactive clubs have been revitalized and are keenly involved in several programmes implemented by the school, PEPA and community groups.

Final Destination: Jamaica!

For five months last year, we believed we were headed to Morocco to do environmental work. Of course, our Peace Corps Placement Officer wouldn’t confirm the country but only Morocco matched up with this type of work and the tentative departure date. Being newly retired, we eagerly read PC blogs, haunted our library for books, and even watched “The Sheltering Sky” again in anticipation of two years in this arid North African country. We were, admittedly, a bit ambivalent about Morocco but were ready to take on the challenge. Then it all fell through—our Placement Officer called to say that PC-Morocco couldn’t find a site for a couple who lacked a strong forestry background. For the next month we understood we were being posted in Eastern Europe which we suspected meant Romania. Visions of worn cobbled streets, snow capped peaks and Transylvanian castles were dashed when our Placement Officer called with bad news: the Eastern European program needs were changing and they currently had no place for us.

For the following week we were tentatively assigned to Central Asia/Mongolia. By this time our attitude was “whatever” and we told each other that there could hardly be a more exotic post. Never mind the tongue-twisting language, the sere landscape, the winters too harsh to imagine—we’d give it a try. But we’d barely had a chance to find a biography of Genghis Khan when our Placement Officer called yet again.

“Central Asia says that they can’t give us an answer about your placement for another month and I hate to keep you waiting that long. I just wanted to ask—would you consider doing environmental work in the Caribbean?” she said.

Joseph Thornton – The Importance of Creating School Gardens in Jamaica

Throughout my time spent working in Jamaica working on development I have been exposed to the constant toiling and travails of local agricultural communities throughout the country. The typical local production farmer works hard to get his plants in the ground and keep them growing well while being subject to a continually increasing price in fertilizer, seed and daily living expenses. The typical farmer also endures the stigma of working in a profession that is seen as outdated, poor, and dirty. When in reality the hard-working farmer should be venerated and celebrated as a noble and important part of society. A provider of sorts, so that other professions can exist. Without a ready supply of food to the supermarkets and marketplaces we would all have to be farmers just to be able to feed ourselves!

Michelle W: Keeping It Not Too Far From Normal

Dan calls me the other day, “Michelle we are trying to get the first installment of a newsletter together. I wanted to ask if you could write an article for it.” I won’t give you all the details, but he goes on to say he was thinking it could be the lead article. Oh, sure Dan, no pressure. Well, here goes…

I am a year into my Peace Corps service. For this next part, you might want to get out your map. I live in the small district of Coxheath, in the community of Sherwood Content in the parish of Trelawny. I work for the Windsor Research Centre in Windsor. If you look on the map, it is where the road from the north ends going into Cockpit Country. I still live with my host family, Ms. Lillian Bolt-Smith and two of her granddaughters. I’ve really enjoyed my first year of service. The agency I work for is an environmental NGO. I’ve been assisting in bird research, environmental education, and in the planting of hundreds of trees.

Chris R: Lion

Lion is passed out in my yard again. His crinkled form lies sprawled across the concrete retaining wall, his eyes shielded by an ancient straw hat that seems to have taken on an organic quality, harboring life forms unknown to modern biology. Taking a seat on my porch I pretend to read a book, but my eyes frequently drift over to the old man, making sure the buzzards don’t pay the him a premature visit. It’s doubtful that John Crow would show much interest in old Lion anyway. Not even the mosquitoes pay him any mind.

I take a moment and amble over to him, just to make sure he’s still breathing. His distinctive sweet-and-sour aroma of cannabis resin and sun-seared sweat is not quite repulsive, but not a smell one would typically associate with a healthy organism. I search for the telltale bottle and find it shoved into his right pocket. He keeps his rum close… in the way a cop would carefully position a trusted sidearm.