Government has devised a war plan to reduce numbers of invasive lionfish in Bermuda’s waters.

Health and Environment Minister Trevor Moniz said that the strategy provided “a guide and cohesive long-term plan on how to tackle this problem based on experiences had so far in Bermuda and in the region.”

The Control Plan, put together by a collaborative effort by Government, NGOs, and the Lionfish Taskforce, lists five priorities — education, outreach and training, research and assessment, detection and removal, monitoring and data gathering, and data management.

Lionfish were first spotted in the region 15 years ago and their numbers have increased dramatically, particularly in deeper water. With no natural predator, they pose a threat to reef fish stocks.

“It was not until commercial lobster fishermen started catching lionfish more frequently in their offshore traps in the late 2000s and Triangle Diving personnel began seeing numbers of them on deep dives that we realised that they were increasing here primarily in depths greater than 150 feet,” Mr Moniz said.

“We also realised that we knew very little about how large the population was, and how they were impacting local fish populations, and that this was important information to obtain in order to develop effective control strategies.

“This, combined with the realisation that no one organisation had the resources to handle this problem by itself became the impetus for collaboration.”

Work on the Control Plan began in October, 2012 when the Ocean Support Foundation, in partnership with the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ), organised and hosted a workshop designed to help the Island start to create a plan to gather the necessary information and develop control strategies.

The Lionfish Taskforce was established during this workshop with a mandate to oversee the creation of the plan.

“The challenges of managing the lionfish invasion are complex,” Mr Moniz said.

“Lionfish are the first marine invasive reef fish to plague the western Atlantic region, so there are no previous experiences on which to draw.

“That is why this Lionfish Control Plan is so important. It provides a guide and cohesive long-term plan on how to tackle this problem based on experiences had so far in Bermuda and in the region.”

Mr Moniz said that, through a £170,000 grant, the first research phase of the plan had already started, while 300 volunteers had signed up to a lionfish culling permit programme.

“The Control Plan is a working document and will evolve over time as new information is discovered,” Mr Moniz said.

“The plan represents the first stage of the overall control strategy and will provide a reference for anyone who is actively engaged in learning about lionfish and developing local control tactics.

“On behalf of the Ministry of Health and Environment, I would like to thank all those who had a hand in preparing this Lionfish Control Plan.

“We would especially like to thank Jim Gleason for all the work that he did as Taskforce chair to pull the plan together and we would also like to welcome on-board the new co-chairs, Kirk Kitson and Paul Van-Pelt who will help guide the implementation of the plan.”

The Ministry encourages anyone involved or wishing to get involved in the lionfish control work to download the Plan from the Government Portal (www.gov.bm) or the Lionfish Taskforce website (www.lionfish.bm).

Upcoming opportunities for public participation in this effort will be advertised as widely as possible, and members of the public can contact the Lionfish Taskforce at info@lionfish.bm with any questions or comments.