Lionfish Podcasts – Details, episodes & analysis

Elsie Gringley is a young artist living in the Cayman Islands or Bermuda from time to time. She is a talented artist and daughter of a well-known marine scientist so her knowledge of lionfish and the ocean is a big part of her art.

Dr Goodbody-Gringley is CCMI's Director of Research, heading up CCMI’s Vision 2025 Reef Resilience and Restoration Research team. Previously, Dr Goodbody-Gringley was an Assistant Scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) where she led the Reef Ecology and Evolution Laboratory.  

Dr Goodbody-Gringley's research focuses on population structure, reproductive ecology, and genetic connectivity of a variety of organisms that inhabit tropical coral reef ecosystems ranging from inshore shallow reefs down to the mesophotic zone, with the goal of understanding how ecosystems function in order to maintain biodiversity. To address questions related to reef health, evolution, resilience, and recovery, she combines large-scale in situ ecological surveys, small-scale laboratory experiments, and molecular ecology. Dr Goodbody-Gringley’s current projects include a collaboration with A. Trembanis from the University of Delaware using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in combination with technical diving to map deep reef systems and couple the physical environment with biological communities. She is also working with H. Putnam from the University of Rhode Island and J. Bruno from the University of North Carolina to determine thermal tolerances of corals to climate change and the capacity for corals to adapt over a single generation. In 2019, she traveled to Israel to work with T. Mass from Haifa University to explore how patterns of development differ between corals on shallow and deep reefs in the Red Sea.  

Gretchen completed her BSc at the University of Georgia and her Ph.D. at Harvard University in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. She then held postdoctoral positions at Mote Marine Laboratory and University of Bologna, Italy. Gretchen has a broad background in benthic marine ecology and is particularly interested in the evolution of life history strategies and how that in turn serves to structure population dynamics and maintain genetic diversity. 

Gerald & Sons Snorkeling is a great way to snorkel and spearfish in the waters off Caye Caulker, Belize. You won't find a better group of guides on the island because they grew up since childhood doing this.

Dianny is a marine conservationist in her home island of Caye Caulker Belize. She works hard to help keep their reefs safe and healthy by focusing on the removal of lionfish.

Lionfish Hunting with 10 Year Old Thomas in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao! Not many kids get to hunt lionfish, not to mention do it in such exotic places! Thomas went on our Lionfish Expedition to the ABC's off of Venezuela. He got to dive with the best divers on Aruba and Curacao and he did great!

We sat down with Thomas while on the cruise for this podcast and it was a fun experience. His honesty was refreshing and the trip and podcast was a great time.

Peter From Tobacco Caye Paradise Belize. If you're on Tobacco Caye and your scuba diving you're probably going to be working with Peter. He runs the diving on the island and also participated in the Tobacco Caye Lionfish Tournament. He is outgoing and has the energy to make sure every dive is a great one!

Shamika is a local Belizean who came to Tobacco Caye Marine Station to intern. She helped with the islands largest lionfish tournament ever! She helped measure, gather data, dissect lionfish and a lot more. She filled me in on some of the local cultures and ways of life in Belize and was great to hang out with for a few days!

Mark and Maaika are from Holland and we met while we were helping with a lionfish tournament on Tobacco Caye Belize. They had quite the travel adventure and were finishing it up when we met. They are a great example of someone visiting Tobacco Caye and getting involved with the Marine Station and making their trip there that much more impactful.

Taylor Worked at Tobacco Caye Marine Station in Belize for the summer. We got to work with her for the last few days of her term there. She is one of the few who make the Marine Station such a success. Her enthusiasm and dedication shows in everything she does!

Celso is with Blue Ventures Conservation in Belize. We work with Celso to help bring tools to better control the lionfish populations throughout belize.

Belize’s marine environment encompasses some of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the Caribbean Sea, including vast coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Blue Ventures has maintained a permanent presence in Belize since 2010, supporting diverse fisheries and conservation efforts.

They work in close partnership with the Belize Fisheries Department, MPA managers, fishing cooperatives and fishers’ associations, and championed the establishment of a national scale domestic fishery targeting the invasive lionfish.  They are actively promoting community led fisheries management, building on the success of our pioneering work with management of invasive lionfish.

https://blueventures.org/where-we-work/#belize