Commonly known as lionfish but also called zebrafish, the marine fish of genus Pterois spp is a venomous fish and an invasive species in the Caribbean Sea.

They are well known for their ornate beauty, a common species in aquariums, but it represents a problem as it has been described as “one of the most aggressively invasive species on the planet” and it feeds off smaller native species of ecological and economic importance.

One lionfish alone can reduce the density of young fish in a reef by as much as 79%, including snapper fish which is one of the most important fish species for local fishermen.

The sixth date of the national tournament to capture the lionfish will take place this Saturday, September 30th and Sunday, October 1st in the waters of the National Refugee Gandoca Manzanillo in Costa Rica’s south Caribbean. The tournament will focus exclusively on capturing the lionfish.

The purpose of this tournament is to control the population of this invasive species to contribute with the conservation of coral reefs.

The tournament allows the participation of teams of three people, on Saturday the capturing of the lionfish is done without the help of oxygen tanks in what is known as freediving while on Sunday the use of equipment will be allowed and in both cases with the use of nets and Hawaiian harpoon.