Mike Hancock Receives Prizes For Most Lion Fish Caught

In an effort to maintain the unique diversity of the Belize Barrier Reef Ecosystem and reduce the population of the invasive lionfish, monthly lionfish tournaments have been taking place since April of 2010 and will end November 2010 culminating in a grand prize on December 15, 2010.

The tournament is open to fishermen and tour guides who capture and deliver the most lionfish each month and prizes are given to the person who collects the most at the end of the month.

Michael Hancock has won 1st place for the month of June (70 Lion fish), 1st place in July (98 Lion Fish) and 2nd Place in August (52 Lion Fish) and he received a bike, a polarized sunglass, a phone, and a hurricane lamp. Congratulations to Mike and to Rudy Duran for winning the 1st place in August with 220 Lion Fish (WOW)!

After the first confirmed sighting of a lionfish in Belize in December 2008, ECOMAR began working with the Belize Fisheries Department to raise awareness on the problems that are anticipated as a result of the increasing number of lionfish in the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve Ecosystem.

These actions formed the development of the “Belize Lionfish Project,” an outreach program that is being coordinate by ECOMAR in association with the Belize Fisheries Department, fishing cooperatives; tour guide associations and other NGOs in Belize which are members of the Belize National Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

The goal of the Belize Lionfish Project is to raise awareness on this invasive fish, educate key stakeholders on how they can become involved in protecting their future livelihood, determine the source of lionfish in Belize through scientific studies, and garner renewed enthusiasm and interest in protecting the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System and the associated marine areas.

Ambergris Today

I hope these caught fish are being sold to aquarium shops in the USA. They should bring a nice price and be better than just destroying them.
Congratulations to the winners!

Does anyone know where this picture was taken? I don't recognize the office/floor area.....

It's at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve park office, back by the Texaco station.

Why can't they finance the hunt by selling the fish?

Selling them in pet stores is probably how they ended up in Belize. The last thing the US needs is another invasive species. Great program, congratulations to the winners. 220 in one month goes to show you how bad the problem is.
Mark

Thank you Shuffles...Now I know where.....

October results
fisherman----- Tourguide----- Boat
1st Manolo Magana 160 1st Ediberto Palma 352 1st Nadeska 90
2nd Antonio Munoz 90 2nd Rudy Duran 274 2nd Shy 82
3rd Engenio Santos 75 Michael Hancock 132 3rd Isabel 75
4th Roland Espat 72 Juan Carlos Montejo 132 4th Sundancer 70
5th Rangel Flores 65 4th John Garraway 70 5th Yanisi 65
6th Luis Cruz 5thMariaAllen10 47 6th Varitza 47
7th Jeronimo Tzul 31 6th – – 7th Zaleny 31
8th Mark Lammey 27 7th – – 8th Mels 27
9th Leonardo Awayo 21 8th – – 9th Roxanie 21
10th Carlos Requena 16 9th – – 10th Vicion 14
11th Diogenes Perez 14 10th – – 11th Apex 5

I'm eating, right now, a Lionfish Burger for breakfast.
One of the guides and his wife cooked them for the shop this morning.
The worst curse on this planet is to taste good...yummie!
I love it when a plan comes together.