The lionfish, Pterois volitans, a native of the Indo-Pacific is a highly valuable marine fish for aquarists, and so highly prized in the U.S. market.

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The lionfish, Pterois volitans, a native of the Indo-Pacific is a highly valuable marine fish for aquarists, and so highly prized in the U.S. market.

Since 1992, it has spread from Florida across the Atlantic to Bermuda, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Haiti, Virgin Islands, Belize, Panama and Colombia (Schofield, 2009) affecting directly or indirectly the reef ecosystems.

In January 2010, during the general assembly of the International Initiative for Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), the Secretariat considered the need of creating an ad hoc committee that can develop a strategic plan for the international control of lionfish in the wider Caribbean “to prevent the introduction, as well as control and eradicate an alien species that threaten ecosystems, habitats and species."

This ad hoc committee is chaired by Mexico and NOAA, through their respective representatives, namely Ricardo Gomez Lozano (Mexican National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, SEMARNAT) and Scot Frew (NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program).

To address this problem and comply with the provisions of this international agreement by ICRI, Mexico, in partnership with NOAA, Reef Environmental Education Foundation and the Government of France (as co-secretaries of the ICRI) decided to hold the first International Workshop to address the problem of lionfish from a regional perspective in the Wider Caribbean. The Workshop is taking place this week in Cancún with the participation of all countries and territories of the wider Caribbean.

The workshop will develop a strategy to minimize and monitor the effect of the presence of the lionfish and other marine invasions in the Wider Caribbean.

The strategy includes the following:

• Compile existing information of this species in the Wider Caribbean.

• Establish the basis for the generation of species information

• Identify local and national strategies to control invasive lionfish.

• Establish a coherent framework for bringing about changes in the spread of lionfish in the region.

• Develop effective communication tools to reach out to local communities so they can address the consequences of these invasions.

• Plan activities and policies across the region for the control, traffic, import, export and marketing of invasive alien species.

The result of this workshop will be widely disseminated in the region with presentations at the next ICRI General Meeting to be held in Samoa in October 2010.

This workshop has the financial and logistical support of the Government of Mexico, the Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), NOAA, and the Government of France (as co-secretaries of the ICRI).

At the workshop, ca. 30 representatives of the countries are presenting their current management scheme, programs or work plans to address the invasion of lionfish.

The workshop is attended by representatives of Belize, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, Netherlands Antilles, Martinique, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, as well as officials and specialists from CONAPESCA, National Institute of Ecology, CONABIO and CONANP.

Lad Adkins (REEF), Dr James Morris (NOAA), Scot Frew (NOAA), Stephanie Green (who works with the genetics of this species), Peter Chevalier Monteagudo (Cuba), and Ramon de Leon (Bonaire), among others, are presenting the progress in controlling this invasive species in the Wider Caribbean.