Comfort Suites Grand Cayman and Ambassador Divers team up to rid Cayman Islands waters of lionfish

(TRAVPR.COM) USA - June 25th, 2014 - GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands (June 25, 2014) - Comfort Suites Grand Cayman, which is franchised by 

Ridding the Cayman Islands waters of a voracious foreign fish species is one of the initiatives embraced by the resort, which is working closely with a local dive company.

"The lionfish was introduced to Cayman Islands waters and have wreaked havoc on our local fish population - which has in turn damaged our coral reefs - so we jumped at the opportunity to do something about it with our partners at Ambassador Divers," reported Tom Mason, General Manager of the Comfort Suites resort on the storied Seven Mile Beach.

Comfort Suites Seven Mile Beach partnered with Ambassador Divers to support an innovative scheme, guided by the Cayman Islands Marine Conservation Board, to reduce the numbers of the voracious fish introduced from the Asia-Pacific region.

"People bought the lionfish for their aquariums and, when they saw how they devoured other fish in the tanks, dumped them into the ocean - not knowing the species could produce 30 thousand eggs every four days," said Jason Washington, owner of Ambassador Divers - one of the premier dive shops in the Cayman Islands.

In an effort to cull the island waters of the killer fish, the Cayman United Lionfish League (CULL) launched a fishing tournament which is counter-intuitive to the norms of sustainable fishing. The aim of the tournament is to drastically reduce the lionfish population and, perhaps, eventually rid their waters of the species.

"We know this is not possible. We can only maintain our reef, much like someone cuts their grass, we can never completely rid our waters of this fish, but we can, through our culling efforts, help stem the tide," asserted Washington, whose dive shop is located at Comfort Suites Grand Cayman.

"Our lionfish tournament, held four times a year, awards prizes not only for the largest but also the smallest fish to ensure they don't breed as much," stated Washington who runs classes teaching tourists how to handle the predator fish which have venomous spikes covering their bodies.

The invasive species is not eaten by Caribbean predator fish so Washington looked ashore for a solution: "Fortunately it is quite a delicious species and we've shown the local restaurants how to appreciate its white, flaky flesh. Demand has outstripped our ability to supply - so, we need more tourists to help us fish."

The Cayman Islands even got the celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain, to appreciate the taste thereby shining more international attention on the fight to restore indigenous fish stocks by catching, and eating, the lionfish.

"Without natural predators, the lionfish devoured local fish at an alarming rate - and compounded their damage by also killing fish which cleaned and maintained our vulnerable coral reefs causing serious harm to our coral reef systems," lamented Washington.    

"It's not often you have a chance to over-fish and we're hoping more of our guests take advantage of the very rare opportunity to actually over-fish for conservation," stated Mason.

Comfort Suites Seven Mile Beach is a recently renovated all-suite hotel, featuring modern room categories, from standard and deluxe studios, one- and two-bedroom suites, as well as a master suite.

All studios include refrigerators, microwaves, cutlery and coffee machines and have beautiful island views. Some suites contain fully equipped kitchens with stoves and dishwashers.

The Comfort Suites hotel in Grand Cayman provides guests easy access to the Georgetown area, its financial district, the Caymana Bay offices, and easy walking distance to bars, restaurants, nightclubs, entertainment, leisure activities, and duty-free shopping. Business travelers welcome additional conveniences like free wireless (Wi-Fi) access and meeting spaces.

For further information, visit www.caymancomfort.com, www.facebook.com/comfortcayman, www.choicecaribbean.com or call + 1 345-945-7300.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International, Inc. franchises more than 6,300 hotels, representing more than 500,000 rooms, in the United States and more than 35 other countries and territories. As of March 31, 2014, 398 hotels, representing more than 30,000 rooms, were under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in the United States. Additionally, 95 hotels, representing approximately 8,900 rooms, were under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in more than 15 other countries and territories. The company's Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Hotels & Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands, as well as its Ascend Hotel Collection membership program, serve guests worldwide. 

Choice Hotels International offers the Choice Privileges® rewards program. With more than 20 million members worldwide, it is one of the fastest growing hotel loyalty programs in the travel industry.

Additional corporate information can be found on the Choice Hotels International, Inc. web site, which may be accessed at www.choicehotels.com.

Choice Hotels, Choice Hotels International, Choice Privileges, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Hotels & Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, and Ascend Hotel Collection are proprietary trademarks and service marks of Choice Hotels International Inc.

© 2014 Choice Hotels International, Inc.  All rights reserved.

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