On September 3 and 4, as part of the official activities of the Month of the Oceans at the national level, the Lionfish Capture Tournament and Tasting was held, organized by the Union of Bocatorian Artisanal Fishermen and the Inter-American Foundation.
Due to the Corona Virus pandemic, it was not a massive activity or open to registrations, but it was transmitted through virtual media.
Previously, the respective permits had been requested and obtained from the Aquatic Resources Authority (ARAP) and the Ministry of Health (MINSA), protocols and a work program for the day had been established.
The logistics and award criteria were coordinated by the MEPAB group. Each participating fisherman was given a Kit with sanitation items, water and a snack. Each boat carried a maximum of 3 to 5 fishermen, according to the ARAP guidelines. A total of 234 specimens were captured.
In counting and evaluating them, we had the collaboration of an ARAP specialist to register in the database that is being built at the regional level.
With this and other information to be collected, the project is expected to contribute to systematize the data and make technical and process information available on this species.
It is worth noting the determined collaboration of the Municipality of Almirante, specifically the Mayor, who accompanied the fishermen in an additional boat at the different capture points. He also awarded a cash amount for the award and collected, for the same purpose, items collected with his support, in different local businesses.
It was only 7:00 in the morning on Thursday, September 3, when the participants registered in the tournament, after filling the gas tanks of their boats, set out in the direction of their favorite fishing spot, where they knew they would find the lionfish.
Each of them, once located in the place, slipped into the sea carrying their mask and snorkel and, in their hand, the work instrument: a garter harpoon that would allow them to catch the coveted prey.
Its captain was waiting on the boat to take care of it and to receive the delivery of the catches from the fishermen who were in the water.
Once the deadline given for the valid captures for the tournament was over, the boats and their crew headed towards Almirante, UPESABO headquarters.
Starting at 2:00 pm, the participating boats began to arrive at the UPESABO dock and unload their catches.
There they were received by the ladies of the MEPAB commission, who, in addition, proceeded to weigh and measure the fish to feed the organization's database.
Once the individual and global totals of captures were known, the available prizes, donations from traders and authorities in the area were handed out.
Thus ended a very profitable day as 234 specimens of this invasive fish, so harmful to our marine ecosystems and to the interests of artisanal fishing, had been removed from the sea.
As the time announced for the tasting activity of the dishes made with the tasty meat of the lionfish approached, the UPESABO headquarters increased the movement.
It was Friday, September 4, 2020, around noon, on a sunny day in Almirante.
The guest chefs and their assistants were already on the important task of making their creations made from lionfish and various local vegetables and seasonings.
At the specially prepared tables, the ingredients were displayed to the guests who were beginning to arrive, including local and regional authorities.
While the last touches were being given to the prepared delicacies, in the protocol framework of the activity, the president of UPESABO, Martha Machazeck, addressed those present to express the importance of this act, part of a first moment in the fight against marine predator.
She was followed by the Mayor of Almirante, Derick Echeverría, the Regional Director of ARAP, Rubén Pinzón, the project coordinator, Marietta Fonseca, the consultant Edith López and the person in charge of Protected Areas of the Ministry of the Environment, Tomás Mora.
Finally, the guest chefs, Rigoberto Romero and Ruth Bellido, while promoting the knowledge of this cuisine to spread to all other chefs in the province, presented their delicious lionfish-based dishes to the audience.
And the long-awaited moment arrived, tasting the delicacies prepared with the much-mentioned lionfish, with tasty and white meat, which does not envy many others that we eat regularly. We tried the fish prepared fried or pickled, in different types of ceviche and as the well-known fish fingers.
Phone: (507)758-3622
Email: upesabo@yahoo.com
