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Joined: Oct 1999
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Marty Offline OP
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It was in 2008 when the Belize Fisheries Department confirmed the first sighting of the invasive Lionfish in Belizean waters. The increasing numbers of the lionfish threatening our ecosystem lead to numerous projects and tournaments to get rid of the invasive lionfish. Now there is another species that joins this creature in Belizean waters - the Tiger Prawn.

Mr. Severo Guerreo Sr, (a local San Pedro fisherman) caught a black tiger prawn shrimp in Shark Ray's fore-reef. It's an invasive species found in the Gulf of Mexico. This black tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) in particular weighed 8.6 ounces and had a length of 30 cm in size. According to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve Office, last month, Lyndon Rodney, Fishery Officer had shared an image of this same species at the Punta Gorda fish market. This proves that this species has made it further south into the Caribbean.

Tiger prawns are voracious predators and are known to harbor numerous diseases that could spread to white and brown shrimp, oysters, and crabs. Tiger prawns could join the list of invasive species humans seek to control by eating, like wild pigs and lionfish.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see LOTS more photos in the Ambergris Today


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Tom Offline
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cool
OK, the fisermen really need to get fishing those Tiger Prawn, they are delicious. They need to be on everyone's menu.
Kat

Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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2nd Black Tiger Prawn found in Belizean waters

The management of Hol Chan Marine Reserve is reporting that a Black Tiger Prawn originally from Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia was fished outside of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve off Ambergris Caye. This is the second prawn that has been found in Belizean waters since May. The first was fished off Toledo's coast sometime in May. The species of shrimp is considered to be invasive and there is concern about the effects it can have on the environment and shrimp farms in Belize.

Speaking to The San Pedro Sun Miguel Alamilla, Marine Biologist and Manager of Hol Chan Marine Reserve shared his concerns relating to the prawn now being found in Belizean waters. "This species is huge in aquaculture, and in 1988, it was released from a research facility in North Carolina and it has been coming downstream since. In 1990 it was reported in South Florida, then the Caribbean and now Belize. It is an invasive species because it is not endemic to this region. Any rare species found in our water is cause for concern. We don't really know the level of ecological impacts of the prawn to the marine environment. From previous studies and reports, we know that this species is a very aggressive feeder and it preys on many small shrimp and other species that live in our seas. It is also a carrier for 16 different known viruses that can negatively impact native shrimp and even wipe them out. So it is enough reason to be concerned," outlined Alamilla. According to Hol Chan Marine Reserve, there was a similar finding in the Toledo District and reports from the Fishery Officer are that a prawn was seen for sale at the fish market in Punta Gorda Town.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see more photos in the San Pedro Sun



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