A diving operation carried out by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) resulted in the capture of 140 lionfish, in Fernando de Noronha (PE).
The action, which took place last week, was carried out in partnership with the Sea Paradise diving center.
According to the diver and company director, Fernando Rodrigues, the operation took place in the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park and the Environmental Protection Area (APA).
“Our focus was to explore already mapped points to check the lionfish repopulation rate, identifying the density and sizes of the species. The smallest lionfish measured just 10 centimeters, while the largest exceeded 45 centimeters,” said Rodrigues, in a note published by ICMBio.
The specialist highlighted that, to date, this was the action with the highest number of captures of the species.
The diver also explained that working to manage lionfish, considered a predator, guarantees the longevity of species that are directly or indirectly threatened by the proliferation of the marine animal.
Threat
The lionfish (Pterois volitans) is native to the Indo-Pacific region. It was first seen in Brazil in 2014, having been registered in the archipelago in 2020.
According to the Chico Mendes Institute, since then, more than a thousand lionfish have been caught in Fernando de Noronha.
The predatory species can consume up to 20 fish in 30 minutes, in addition to reproducing quickly, laying up to 30,000 eggs at once.
The coordinator of the Reef Conservation Project (PCR), Pedro Pereira, detailed that lionfish are concentrated in deeper areas, but there is a tendency to migrate to shallow regions.
“It is important to highlight that these captures were made in areas that have not been managed frequently, which also shows that the population is increasing due to this lack of this work to capture the animals, further increasing the need for collaboration, for the inclusion of new operators, incentives for research, so that management continues”, highlighted Pereira.
Fernando also mentioned the possibility of allowing consumption of the species as a form of population control.
However, for now, the ICMBio-Noronha Integrated Management Center (NGI) encourages diving operators to continue management.
“A growing population could harm biodiversity and the diving economy. Collaborating with lionfish management is contributing to sustainability”, concluded Lilian Hangae, head of NGI.
*Under the supervision of Bruno Laforé
This content was originally published in Divers capture 140 lionfish in Fernando de Noronha on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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