In Tela, Honduras, a group of divers led by Mario, an engineer and founder of the local dive center Tela Divers, has organized efforts to hunt lionfish that are spreading across the reef. Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific and thought to have arrived in the Caribbean through the aquarium trade, according to local accounts.
With few natural predators in Caribbean waters, lionfish consume large numbers of native reef fish. The divers began experimenting with specialized spears and organizing community derbies where teams compete to catch the biggest, smallest and greatest number of lionfish, an approach designed to encourage wider participation in the effort.
Regular, community-led hunting has proven to be one of the most effective ways of keeping local lionfish populations in check. However, the effort requires constant attention, as lionfish can repopulate sites that have already been hunted.
Divers are now exploring additional strategies to maintain pressure on the invasive population, including encouraging local fishers to catch lionfish for sale to restaurants. For Mario, the initiative represents a long-term commitment to protecting the reef.
