My name is Robert Isaac. I’m 12 years old. I attend the Jost Van Dyke Secondary School, and I am in form two. I live on JVD and was born here in the Virgin Islands. I am part of the new Junior Divers Club formed by the JVD Preservation Society. I learned about the lionfish problem about three years ago from the Preservation Society. I am writing this letter to raise awareness of lionfish.
Lionfish are a big problem to the Caribbean. First of all, they are not native to the Caribbean. They were brought here when a Florida aquarium that was near the sea was destroyed. The water from the aquarium drained into the sea. Only six lionfish were in the aquarium, and they are responsible for the big population of lionfish today.
Second of all, since they are not native to the Caribbean, they have no predators here. They are overeating our tiny reef fish that are responsible for eating the algae that grows on the reef. If the lionfish keep on doing this, our reefs will look pale and unappealing.
People reading this should care, because if this keeps up it will make a big impact on the Virgin Islands’ tourism. No tourist will snorkel at a beach that has unappealing coral reefs. If we have no tourism, we have no money, and if we have no money that takes a toll on the economy.
On Jan. 12 some members of the JVD Preservation Society visited the Reef Guardians in East End to get some training on how to hunt lionfish. We left at 8 a.m. from JVD. When we reached, they gave us a brief demonstration on what we will be using and what we will be doing. Only adults over the age of 21 can use spearguns, so I couldn’t use one. We sailed over to Beef Island, set up our gear and dove. We split into two groups: one heading north and one heading south. I was in the group going south. We spotted only one lionfish, which is good and bad. After 45 minutes, we all caught 16 lionfish.
The JVD Preservation Society and the Jr. Divers Club will support Reef Guardians by making lionfish markers, hunting lionfish and so on as part of our activities. We cannot do this alone. We need help from the community to help rid the Caribbean of lionfish.
If you want to know more or want to help out, contact Reef Guardians at 442-7783 or e-mail info@reefguardians.com. Contact the JVD Preservation Society at susanjvdps@gmail.com or 540-0861.
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