Big Fish Initiative

#RecoverBigFish and join our campaign to protect fish spawning aggregations in the wider Caribbean!

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

#DogSnapper Protect The Spawning to Rebuild the Fishery.

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

Life is better… in color! 🌈 When the sea gets too hot, corals expel the tiny algae that feed them and turn white. Bleached isn't dead, yet: if the water cools in time, reefs can recover.

Proud to support @coral_org's Coral Bleaching Awareness Month 👉 https://t.co/Ax0oWhRcjA

[NOAA Coral Program @NOAACoral]

Football season is in full swing, and nobody plays defense quite like a coral reef! 🏈🪸
Healthy reef structures dissipate wave energy, acting as a natural buffer that protects shorelines and coastal communities from storm surge.
https://t.co/WTkRbe2B9l

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

Pescadores como Angélica, Eloy y Kenny saben cuándo y dónde desovan los peces — ese conocimiento, junto con ciencia y buenas reglas, sostiene una pesquería.

Hoy lanzamos #HechoParaDurar, nuestra serie sobre pesquerías resilientes al clima. 🎣🌊

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🌊 A storm hits. One reef collapses, while another comes back to life.

That difference isn't luck. It's RESILIENCE.

Today we launch #BuiltToLast, a look at the science of climate-resilient fisheries and why the Caribbean's big fish are at the heart of it. 🐟

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

@Bacademyofsci

[The Coral Reef Research Hub @reef_research]

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BAHAMAS: Internships and Job Openings with The Island School (Cape Eleuthera Institute, Bahamas)

The Island School in the Bahamas is currently advertising a number of positions, both paid jobs and research internships. The Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) serves as the research, innovation and systems branch of The Island School, working hand in hand with the organization’s educational programs to chart a path toward a more livable future. CEI conducts environmental research and innovates systems and designs that model how to live sustainably in South Eleuthera, throughout The Bahamas, and in other island nations.

For these position you should be comfortable working in challenging field conditions, have a passion for environmental conservation and a love of teaching students of all ages. Interns are expected to take initiative, be well-organized and resilient, working flexibly across teams within the organization.

Application deadlines vary, but the Research Internship (link below) has a specific deadline of 22nd September 2026

CEI Research Internship: https://t.co/WxPsXAStCa

Full list of open positions: https://t.co/yD9zHXK6e1

Many more exciting job and career opportunities can be found here: https://t.co/vNXtExp3e5

#coralreefs #internships #jobs #careers #bahamas #coralreefecology #coralinternship #researchinternship #marinescience #marinebiology

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

The answers:
B & D were TRUE.
A & C were FALSE.

Goliaths aren't fast-growing or short-lived.
They take decades to mature and can live 30-50 yrs!
They also spawn at the same sites & moons yearly.

Extraordinary creatures, but easy to wipe out.
Protect their spawning grounds!

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🔍 Four statements about the Atlantic goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara). More than one is true — can you identify which?

Swipe through and share your picks.

We'll reveal tomorrow.

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🐟The biggest snapper in the sea spends its life alone — until now.

Each year, cubera gather by the hundreds to spawn. Let them spawn!

May to September in the Greater Caribbean: DON'T fish, buy, sell, or eat cubera. Let the giants make more giants. 🚫🎣📅

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

A fishery doesn't collapse when the last fish is caught.

It collapses when the next generation stops arriving. 🐟

Groupers & snappers pack an entire year of reproduction into a few days, at a few known sites. Fish that window, you're taking the next generation before it exists

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🐟 The ocean has a budget.

Take more than it can make, and the whole system runs short. 🎣🎣🎣
--
@perryinstitute @BigFishInit

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🐟 The answer was C — the Cubera snapper (Lutjanus cyanopterus). 🎉

💙 Protect cubera spawning aggregations.🐟
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🐟 La respuesta es la C — el Pargo Cubera (Lutjanus cyanopterus). 🎉

💙 Protege las agregaciones de desove del cubera. 🐟
@belugasmile

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🐟 Can you identify this baby fish? /¿Puedes identificar a este pececito? 👀

A) Pargo prieto / manglero / caballerote (gray/mangrove snapper)
B) Mero cherna / cherna criolla (Nassau grouper)
C) Pargo cubera / cubera (cubera snapper)

Comment below / comenta abajo 👇
@belugasmile

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

La temporada de desove de la sama o pargo criollo ya terminó este año. 🎣Pescador@s respetan la veda para seguir pescando el próximo año
_
This year's mutton snapper spawning season is over. 🎣Fishers respect the closed season so there's fish next year @belugasmile

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

Most fish species are harvested beyond sustainable limits, and aggregating species collapse first. Respect the spawn.
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La mayoría de las especies se pescan por encima de los límites sostenibles, y las especies que se agregan son las primeras en colapsar. Protege el desove.

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

Recovery of big 🐟 populations depends on coordination: from research and local knowledge to stronger fisheries management and sustainable🎣
__
La recuperación de pesquerías depende de coordinación de investigación, conocimiento local, manejo pesquero y 🎣 sostenible
@belugasmile

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🐟The answer: B — Dog Snapper🐕.
Catching them during their spawning aggregation can wipe out the population in that area.
__
🐟Era la B — Pargo Perro (Jocú) 🐕. Capturarlos durante las agregaciones de desove pueden acabar con poblaciones locales.
@belugasmile

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

Now hiring!
-Dig. Media, Marketing, Journalism, Communications, Science Comms., or related field
-Exp. managing SM platforms, content publishing, audience engagement, analytics
-Portfolio req
-Brilliant English communicator
-Spanish lang
📍Details at https://t.co/RH4zsAlHWr

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🐟 What fish is this?
A) Mutton snapper
B) Dog snapper
C) Lane snapper

Guess Below. 👇 Answers next Tuesday. 🎣
___
🐟 ¿Qué pez es este?
A) Pargo mulato (mutton)
B) Pargo jocú o dientón (perro)
C) Rabirrubia / manchego (lane)

¡Adivina! 👇 Respuesta el martes. 🎣
@belugasmile

[Big Fish Initiative @BigFishInit]

🎥 Nuevo reel: "Ningún arrecife es una isla: cómo Cuba alimenta a sus vecinos"
📄 Investigación de Claro, Lindeman, Kough & Paris
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🎥 New reel: "No Reef Is an Island: How Cuba Feeds Its Neighbors"
📄 Research by Claro, Lindeman, Kough & Paris
@belugasmile