A campaign to save parrotfish in Colombia, launched on Earth Day this year, April 22, aims to help raise awareness of the importance of parrotfish to the health of the coral reefs around Isla Providencia, Colombia. Hungry parrotfish eat the harmful macroalgae that compete for space with corals, keeping the ecosystem in balance. Too much algae can smother and ultimately kill a coral reef.
Currently, the parrotfish around Providencia are being overfished, which poses great danger to the coral reefs: without the parrotfish, the reef will quickly become overgrown with algae and rapidly deteriorate.
Seacology, supported by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, will be working with the Providencia fishing community, the regional government agency Coralina, and local NGO Fundación Providence.
Seacology’s project is a total ban on catching parrotfish in the waters around the Island. But as a ban is impossible without community support, Seacology is funding a campaign that will reach everyone on the island. It includes a video for fishermen, radio broadcasts, education for schoolchildren, and plaques for restaurants that take parrotfish off the menu.
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