CERMES Barbados Lionfish Derby Data

Since its first connfirmed sighting in November 2011, it is believed that the lionfish population has steadily increased.One of the methods utlised in Barbados to control the Alien invasive lionfish is that of an annual derby. On December 5th and 6th, 2015, teams of divers (both free divers and SCUBA divers) took to the local waters to hunt for and kill lionfish. Caught lionfish were landed at a scoring station to be counted and allow for the collection of basic biological data (such as lengths, weights, sex and maturity). In addition to biological data, teams (observers) also provide information on dive sites (locations) and associated geographic information (i.e. GPS coordinates) where available. This event was a Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) sanctioned derby event (see http://www.reef.org/lionfish/events).