"The Wetter The Better" save lionfish from death

[deeper thoughts]

I wonder if the DM or dive op will respond

 

[svs]

What are you talking about? Lion fish is here to stay. Better to learn how to live with it. All that discussion on how to better kill it with a knife or spear is nonsense. It has spread through vast area, lots of unremarkable sites which never even see a diver. It will stop only when it runs out of food or hopefully nature will find a way to correct our screw up with somewhat limited damage. I personally do not want to see divers around me running with sharp objects trying to nail down anything resembling lion fish.

 

[fisheyeview]

Then don't watch.

 

[mitchsea]

Stab it with a knife?? Have you ever tried to stab a 6-12 inch fish? Good luck, I have a feeling we will be reading about you in the newspaper, or maybe the Darwin Awards.

Unfortunately they are now found all along the Atlantic coast as far as Long Island. Adults as well as juveniles, which means they may be surviving the winter up north. In my opinion the most prudent options are reporting the sighting to the REEF.ORG Invasive Lionfish Program
or catching it if you have an adequate net.

 

[cdreamer]

I don't see the point to killing them either. Nature will catch up hopefully sooner than later. I can tell you first hand that the sting is very painful. I was stung by one I kept in my aquarium. I was only stung by one spine and it hurt for days afterwards. Flame away - but it is just too late to make a difference. Now if people had jumped the "kill em all" bandwagon about 8-9 years ago - it may have had an impact, but not now.

 

[ONESPEED]

What are you talking about? Lion fish is here to stay. Better to learn how to live with it. All that discussion on how to better kill it with a knife or spear is nonsense. It has spread through vast area, lots of unremarkable sites which never even see a diver. It will stop only when it runs out of food or hopefully nature will find a way to correct our screw up with somewhat limited damage. I personally do not want to see divers around me running with sharp objects trying to nail down anything resembling lion fish.

Well in that case I sincerely hope you are nowhere near me when I spot one.

 

[Orlando Eric]

Divers running around with sharp objects? WoW.. scared much? I dive with Spearo's all the time. Luckily the water based glue they let us play with around here is non-toxic.

OneSpeed-- yep I am thinking a 48" pole spear with a paralyzer tip. If you miss with that you are a tool. I could have stabbed the one in Jupiter with a long chopstick -- but that is a bit close for me.

I have personally only seen ONE in this area so far. I have been on dry land for the past two months or so though. As too... YOu can not make a difference by killing just one...

I can not make a difference grabbing one Felonious Drug Dealer with a stolen gun tonight.. but I am sure going to make that effort anyway.

 

[NoVaScuba]

If killing a fish makes you feel better, do it. Just don't be a hazard to yourself or others. Sooner or later, there's going to be some serious injuries from these well intentioned but futile efforts.

It was too late to stop when the first clutch hatched from the first breeding pair.

Drug dealers don't reproduce as fast as fish nor are they as numerous. You still can't get them all by killing them off.

 

[Scuba_Dad]

Let's not bash Bill Walker or his boat. He had nothing to do with it. Now, his DM made a decision and protected the lion fish. Not one that I agree with, but the DM made a decision. It's fair to express your displeasure with the DM, but leave the charter out of it.

BTW... it was nice diving with you Saturday morning... hope to see you on the boat soon.

BTW*2... was it the female DM?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Let's not bash Bill Walker or his boat. He had nothing to do with it. Now, his DM made a decision and protected the lion fish. Not one that I agree with, but the DM made a decision. It's fair to express your displeasure with the DM, but leave the charter out of it.

BTW... it was nice diving with you Saturday morning... hope to see you on the boat soon.

BTW*2... was it the female DM?

I support Bill Walker as well, however, since he is the captain (and boss) he is ultimately responsible for the actions of his professional employees. I doubt he could do anything to prevent the situation, but it is within his capability to attempt to explain the actions of his employee and also indicate if we can expect similar behavoir in the future.

The whole incident sounds a little over-blown, but I personally would like to hear their side of the story.

We will be seeing more of those destructive species and there is no reason to believe that in the very heavily dove locations within Palm Beach that the invasive exotic density can be reduced with a concerted effort on the part of divers.

Local and state governements dump litlerally tons of poisions (mostly herbicides) to control (not eliminate) undesirable aquatic vegetation in the freshwater canals that discharge to this area. If they are willing to dump that much toxins for control, allowing motivated divers to remove these fish has much less potential to damage the ecosystem. I guess my point is that, exotic organsims ARE A BIG DEAL!