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Lion Fish Invasion

Sun Dancer II - Belize      May 1-8, 2010
Dancer Fleet & REEF : Lionfish Invasion
Special Benifit Charter

Package Inclusions: 7 nights onboard Sun Dancer II, all meals and beverages (including well brands of alcohol and Belikin beer), transfers from/to Belize International Airport, five and ½ days of diving, up to five dives per day, other standard Dancer Fleet® services and amenities, special seminars on the Lionfish Invasion and participation in Reef Counts conducted by Lad Akins, REEF’s Director of Special Projects.

Package Price: There will be a $150 tax deductible donation added to the charter price. This $150 will go directly to REEF and Peter Hughes Diving will match each $150 guest donation. So, for every guest who travels, REEF gets $200! You will receive a letter from REEF that will serve as your receipt for the tax deduction.

Master stateroom: $2795 + $150 donation*
Owner’s and Deluxe stateroom: $2595 + $150 donation*
*Plus $95 Port Charge and $15 Recompression Chamber Support

Book Your Space Today !

Let’s Talk Lionfish!
Peter Hughes Diving is teaming with the Reef Environmental Educational Foundation (REEF) in a very important and urgent matter. The fish in this photograph are Indo-Pacific Lionfish – beautiful and prevalent throughout their native range. The problem is that this photo was taken recently in the Bahamas. We’re sharing this story with you in the hopes that you will join us in the early fight against the Invasion of the Lionfish.

Facts:
• Lionfish are voracious predators eating native fish faster than they can recover.

• Lionfish are reaching sizes of almost a half a meter in the Atlantic, far greater than the maximum size recorded from their native range.

• Lionfish reproduce year-round.

• Lionfish grow faster than native predators of similar size.

• Lionfish have no natural predators in the Atlantic /Caribbean.

• Lionfish are becoming one of the most abundant fish on many Bahamian reefs.

• Lionfish are spreading faster than previously predicted and may blanket the Caribbean within a few short years.

• Lionfish are not YET reported from Belize, however, we expect to find them along the Meso-American reef tract in short order. The focus of this expedition is to document native fish populations to determine baselines before the invasion, to conduct education and outreach talks about lionfish and to raise much needed funds to aid in lionfish research and eradication.

We’re ‘Fishing’ for Data
These fish are being seen in very large numbers from North Carolina to Florida and are moving rapidly throughout the Northern Caribbean. They are an invasive species that threaten the well being of diving throughout the Caribbean including Belize and Central America. The first step in combating this invasion is to gather data. By conducting Reef Counts, a research baseline can be established and early detection/ Rapid Response measures put in place. Peter Hughes Diving wants to be a part of this important research and has, therefore, set aside the week of June 13-20, 2009 to participate in gathering data and conducting outreach programs in Belize.

It’s not all work and no play!
Though this trip will be educational and enlightening, it will also be fun! Your two hosts, the Mad Scientist and his Assistant will make sure of that. Plus, don’t forget about what Belize diving has to offer. You’ll visit the atolls that lie offshore beyond Belize’s barrier reef, the most famous of which is Lighthouse Reef, home of the Blue Hole and the magnificent nature preserve at Half Moon Caye. You can expect visibility to reach 120 feet or more at these stunning sites. The walls and drop-offs are amazing. The reef is virgin and pristine. The waters surrounding Belize are teeming with large and small fish, and some of the most spectacular sponge formations found anywhere. During the dives, a wide variety of marine life can be observed such as eagle rays, turtles, tarpon, sharks and the occasional wild dolphin. Among the reef’s inhabitants are enormous schools of jacks, large black groupers, green morays, octopus and midnight parrotfish.

It’s important and it will be fun!
If you dive the Caribbean, consider yourself a fan of coral reefs or wrecks, enjoy u/w photography, like to dive safely and want to support conservation of marine ecosystems, then you have a stake in this issue. Come learn from the experts about this serious situation and support research efforts to address it. Dive with us in Belize May 1-8.

Book Your Space Today !