A lionfish removal in Akamas and an important observation in the Kakoskali MPA
Collaboration with the Climate-ADAPT platform
October 18, 2021
The 8th and final Lionfish Removal Derby of RELIONMED-Life
October 25, 2021On the 24th of October 2021, the “ENALIA PHYSIS – Environmental Research Centre” and the project’s “Removal Action Teams (RATs)” visited the Akamas peninsula, in Paphos. A total of four divers implemented a lionfish removal expedition in a large area outside the “Marine Protected Area (MPA)” of the Kakoskali (in the marine waters that are displayed inside the red square on the photo of the map). During the event, a total of five lionfish were caught and another two were missed. We thank the “NO LIMIT Scuba Training Centre” and its volunteer divers for participating in this lionfish removal event to support the project and its goal to control the populations of this alien, invasive species in the Cyprus marine waters.
Furthermore, it is important to mention that a significant sighting occurred inside the Kakoskali MPA. The attendees were able to detect more than 30 lionfish, all of which were of big sizes. However, since the divers and the project do not have permission to remove lionfish from the MPAs, the RATs only removed five out of seven lionfish that were spotted in the area outside the MPA and just made a record of the number of individuals observed inside the Kakoskali MPA.
Furthermore, it is important to mention that a significant sighting occurred inside the Kakoskali MPA. The attendees were able to detect more than 30 lionfish, all of which were of big sizes. However, since the divers and the project do not have permission to remove lionfish from the MPAs, the RATs only removed five out of seven lionfish that were spotted in the area outside the MPA and just made a record of the number of individuals observed inside the Kakoskali MPA.
