Porto Seguro pays fishers to remove invasive lionfish
The story at a glance
Porto Seguro has offered fishers R$10 for each lionfish delivered to Colônia Z-22, as part of a campaign to remove the invasive fish and support monitoring. A local report published on 9 October said the organisation had received 966 fish over August and September. The catches came from across the wider region, not necessarily Porto Seguro’s waters.134
Brazil’s conservation agency has confirmed lionfish in Abrolhos Marine National Park and says monitoring and management have begun with partners. However, the fish’s distribution and ecological effects there have not yet been measured.25
The story in brief
What you need to know
- The reported catch total has grown since the campaign began. Folha reported 442 fish delivered in August; a later local report recorded 966 received across August and September. These figures cover different reporting periods, and the later total includes fish caught at different locations across the region.34
- The bounty is one part of a wider municipal action plan covering monitoring, capture, research, training and communication. Captured fish have been sent to the Federal University of Southern Bahia for research.3
- Lionfish have been officially confirmed in Abrolhos, but the conservation agency’s notice identifies them only as Pterois spp. The species present there has not been established by that notice.2
- A 2022 study recorded 72 lionfish sightings along 240 kilometres of Brazil’s north-eastern coast. It found the fish in estuaries, seagrass beds, and artificial and natural reefs, and called for further monitoring.5
- Bahia’s environment department classifies lionfish as invasive and warns that their spines are venomous. It advises that capture and handling be carried out only by trained people.6
Conservation context
Why this matters
Lionfish are an invasive concern in Brazilian marine habitats, but the available research says their effects on biodiversity and artisanal fisheries still need to be studied. Knowing where they occur and what impacts they are having is important for assessing the response.56
The developing story
What happens next
Monitoring and management are under way at Abrolhos with partners, while fish delivered through the Porto Seguro campaign are being used for research. The reporting gives no timetable for the work or method for assessing whether the bounty will achieve sustained removal.23
Established evidence
What we know
- ICMBio confirmed lionfish in Abrolhos Marine National Park in an August 2026 notice and said monitoring and management had begun under technical and legal protocols.2
- The Porto Seguro payment scheme has been reported at R$10 per fish delivered to Colônia Z-22, with the campaign under way since August 2026.13
- The 2022 study documented sightings in several kinds of coastal habitat, not only on reefs.5
- State guidance says the fish’s venomous spines require trained handling.6
Open questions
What we don't know
- The distribution and abundance of lionfish across Abrolhos, and which species are present there, remain unresolved.21
- The reporting does not establish what ecological effects are already occurring around Abrolhos or Porto Seguro, beyond the wider concern about the invasion.51
- It is not clear how many fish delivered to Colônia Z-22 were caught within Porto Seguro’s municipal waters.4
- The reports do not show whether the temporary bounty will result in sustained, safe removal or how its effectiveness will be assessed.346
Source coverage
