Lionfish captures and sightings around Utila, July-November 2009.

The first reported sighting was July 7th at Spotted Bay from divers at Captain Morgan's. UCME went out to investigate and efforts were made to locate and catch the fish, however attempts were unfortunately unsuccessful. This was due to be one of many reports received by UCME in the following months. Through a poster campaign initiated around Utila by UCME, awareness of this invasive species spread rapidly and reports of lionfish were coming in on a weekly basis. The first lionfish was caught 21 days after the first sighting by a local boat captain and diver Rudy Parson and his buddy, also a local diver Armando Godoy from the West End dive site on July 28th .The first batch of reports from July where sightings of lionfish on the north shore and this became the trend for next few months after the initial reports, where sightings were confined to the north side. July and August saw 24 sightings and 9 captures. These fish ranged in size from 2 inches to 5 inches in length and were considered juvenile fish that were thought to have become established from eggs that floated in on the current, not from established adult fish.

They have all been juvenile fish between 2 and 6 inches in length and it is believed that the eggs floated in on the current so there are no adult fish yet established.

On August 26th, 2009 UCME ran a workshop to inform local divers on how to catch lionfish so that we could start to act together. It was a packed house with standing room only and the presentation was filmed and later aired on the local TV station HQTV. A guest speaker joined us from Roatan to share their experiences of catching lionfish from the Cayman Islands and Roatan. Advice was given on how to approach the fish and the best tactics for catching them.

Into September and October the sightings continued to be reported by the dive shops. Sightings were now being reported on the south side at the dive site Labyrinth and around Utila¹s cays. October and November saw further reports around the south at the Aquarium and Cabanas and at a seamount off Utila ­ Black Hills. To date we have had 94 reported sightings, of which some may be replicas and 24 captures. The bad new is that the lionfish appear to be moving to all corners of Utila¹s reefs and their average size is getting bigger.

UCME would like to thank all those who have participated from Utila¹s dive shops. We would not have been so successful so far if it wasn't for the help of the local dive community. Divers have been incredibly enthusiastic about joining in to combat this threat. Staff from The Aggressor , Altons, Captain Morgan's, Deep Blue, Parrots, Utila Dive Centre, Parrots, and The Whale Shark Oceanic Research Center have all caught lionfish so far and additional reports have come in from Cross Creek, Underwater Vison, BICD, Lagoona Beach and Utopia. Because of this dedication to a common cause we are all pulling together and there is a chance that we can keep the problem from spreading out of control too fast. Keeping the momentum we have gathered from July to December 2009 must be continued into 2010 if we have any chance of conserving Utila¹s reef fish populations.