A study to benefit the management and conservation of fish, threatened by both natural processes and mans action, is carried out on the archipelago located north of Ciego de Ávila province, where the Jardines del Rey (Kings Gardens) tourist site is situated. The implementation of the project started out on Coco Key, in the channel that connects the inner Long Lagoon to the sea, given the frequent presence of swimmers in the outlet, which can affect the habitat of the marine fauna, chich bears a rich diversity.

Héctor Salvat Torres, a biologist from the Coastal Ecosystems Research Center in Coco Key, expressed that in the first diving visual counts, 24 fish species were sighted. They belong to 16 families, out of which the prevailing are chubs, grunts, perches and snappers.

Although we are dealing with preliminary data --the specialist added-- that figure shows that the variety of animals in the place is significant and, according to their size, they show preferences to occupy certain areas. The small fish are plentiful at the end of the conduit, while those bearing more size, classified as predators, live at the beginning, among them, barracudas, black snappers and grunts.

The channel, where crustaceans, molluscs and algae cohabit, is one of natural formation. It is about 200 meters long and is surrounded by well-structured red and black mangrove vegetation shaped as a cover.

(acn)