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A dedicated restoration effort is underway to save the mangrove, or Cuban gar, within the mosquito-filled Zapata Swamp, the Caribbean’s largest intact wetland. extinction,
This humble initiative targets a unique species facing serious threats.
Andres Hurtado, a park biologist, defending a falling herd MosquitoDescribes the gar as “a jewel among the fishes of Cuba”.
He says, “They are a biological relic that has survived for 140 or 150 million years and are only now in serious danger of extinction.”
The garfish, a long, slender creature with a snout full of sharp teeth, was officially classified as “critically endangered.” International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in 2020.
Its sudden and rapid decline stems from centuries of exploitation, loss of critical habitat, and the devastating introduction in 1999 of the African walking catfish, a ferocious invasive species that has devastated the once pristine marsh.
Hurtado’s answer to these serious challenges began with a hatchery located near a wetland.
There, his team devised a method to reproduce and produce the food needed to raise the finicky mangroves before releasing them into the wild to support the swamp’s ailing population.
Isolation, mosquitoes, lack of supplies and fish’Their reclusive habits make it difficult, if not impossible, to accurately assess the project’s progress.
Young fish are about the size of a small pencil. Dark and hidden, they hide among impenetrable tangles of mangrove roots and are quickly lost when freed.
Scientists say there are signs the project may be doing some good.
The administrator is here,” said Administrator Eduardo Abreu.
“Maybe they’re not as abundant as they used to be, but they’re here, and there’s an established population.”