From Bocas del Toro to the wider Caribbean and beyond, here's who's doing the work — and how to plug in.
That's us. An initiative of The Panama Project, founded by Steve Bender, working with local dive operators, fishermen, and restaurants across Bocas del Toro to remove lionfish, protect the reefs restored through the Rotary Reefs coral nursery program on Isla Solarte, and build "Eat Mor Lionfish" demand into a real local income source.
Contact UsThe flagship community conservation initiative of the 7 Seas Initiative on Isla Solarte, Bocas del Toro. Its Rotary Reefs program runs community-managed coral nurseries and marine protection — the healthy reef this project is working to defend.
Visit ThePanamaProject.orgPanama's national aquatic resources authority has organized multiple lionfish capture tournaments in Bocas del Toro, drawing in local fishermen and divers and removing hundreds of lionfish per event.
Several Bocas del Toro dive operators run regular lionfish culling dives and will happily take visiting divers along — ask when you book. Every fish removed is one less predator on the reef.
Based in Key Largo, Florida, REEF runs the longest-standing invasive lionfish program in the region: sighting reports, an Early Detection & Rapid Response network, deep-water trap research, collecting workshops, and REEF-sanctioned lionfish derbies from the U.S. East Coast through the Caribbean and Bermuda.
reef.orgNOAA funds and publishes the core science behind lionfish impact studies, supports regional management plans, and coordinates with Gulf and Caribbean states and territories on control strategy.
fisheries.noaa.govA global hub connecting lionfish hunters, dive operations, and removal programs from Florida to the Caribbean to the Mediterranean — good starting point for finding a local expedition wherever you're traveling.
lionfishcentral.orgBahamas, Florida Keys, the Gulf Coast, and multiple Caribbean islands now hold annual lionfish derbies — one-day tournaments where teams compete to remove the most lionfish, often paired with cooking demonstrations to build public demand for eating them.
Find a derbyEvery diver on a Lionfish Project outing carries a pole spear and a rigid containment unit like the ZooKeeper® — a puncture-resistant tube that lets a diver safely stow speared lionfish underwater without ever touching the venomous spines, protecting both the diver and the fish from unnecessary damage before it reaches the boat.
Pairing the right gear with trained volunteers is what makes repeat, sustained removal possible — a one-time cull barely dents a local population, but a standing program with the right tools keeps numbers down over time.
Run a program we should know about? If you're organizing lionfish removal, education, or culinary outreach anywhere in the Caribbean or beyond, let us know and we'll consider adding you here.
