Lion fish hunting

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Projeckt_Mayh3m

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Will soon be on a dive trip to the Cancun area. The dive guide I've selected mentioned that on one of his dive excursions they're is a Lion Fish invasion and that spear hunting is 'encouraged'.

I've got no experience Lion Fish hunting, but it sounds super intriguing. From what I'm reading, it's generally a safe activity. Has anyone here been Lion Fish hunting? Care to share your stories and experiences? I'm still on the fence as to whether or not we take him up on the offer.

Thanks!
 
Stings are uber painful so follow all suggestions as to safe handling.It is an environmentally responsible dive activity and as a bonus the fillets are yummy.Just don't get suckered into being someone's de facto commercial harverster,I get 5$ a pound for whole fish commercially.
 
I did it on my trip down to T&C, didn't start until the third dive of day two, and I wish I would've started on the first. They're delicious. My tips:

I found that they liked to hang out under ledges and inside small nooks and holes on the vertical sections of the wall. I watched for the fins sticking out above and below me. They may have different habits on your reef.

Get as much stretch on the band as you can, move the spear slowly towards the fish without touching it, and release. Let the band do the work, don't try and stab with your arm.

Bring with dive shears to cut off the fins, leave them behind, other organisms will quickly eat the fins, reintroducing the nutrients to the reef. Gut the fish underwater and do the same with the innards. I recommend a small pointed knife, a paring knife does the job well.

Either cut the fish into sections and leave it on the reef, or take it back and have the kitchen cook it up for you. On our location they would cook all the lionfish you could kill for free to encourage the practice and keep the population at bay.
 
I did it on my trip down to T&C, didn't start until the third dive of day two, and I wish I would've started on the first. They're delicious. My tips:

I found that they liked to hang out under ledges and inside small nooks and holes on the vertical sections of the wall. I watched for the fins sticking out above and below me. They may have different habits on your reef.

Get as much stretch on the band as you can, move the spear slowly towards the fish without touching it, and release. Let the band do the work, don't try and stab with your arm.

Bring with dive shears to cut off the fins, leave them behind, other organisms will quickly eat the fins, reintroducing the nutrients to the reef. Gut the fish underwater and do the same with the innards. I recommend a small pointed knife, a paring knife does the job well.

Either cut the fish into sections and leave it on the reef, or take it back and have the kitchen cook it up for you. On our location they would cook all the lionfish you could kill for free to encourage the practice and keep the population at bay.
I hope to do some killing this weekend. Thanks for the tips. How long does it take to cut off the fins?
 
Will soon be on a dive trip to the Cancun area. The dive guide I've selected mentioned that on one of his dive excursions they're is a Lion Fish invasion and that spear hunting is 'encouraged'.

I've got no experience Lion Fish hunting, but it sounds super intriguing. From what I'm reading, it's generally a safe activity. Has anyone here been Lion Fish hunting? Care to share your stories and experiences? I'm still on the fence as to whether or not we take him up on the offer.

Thanks!

If you are looking for a dedicated lionfish killer, please check out the MAKO Spearguns spear. Value priced and the use of aircraft grade, anodized aluminum ensures that you won't be getting fiberglass splinters in your hand.

Mako Lion Fish Killer Pole Spear
MLFK-2.jpg
 

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No time at all to speak of. The shears just make it easier. It took longer to get the fish off the barbed spines than to cut off the fins. Fins first, then remove from spear
 
You can hold steady the LF for spine removal by either placing your thumb and forefinger in it's eyes, or stick your thumb in it's mouth. The teeth are really small they don't bite. Don't worry about the big pectoral fins. Those are just show. You need to cut off the dorsal fin, the ventral (pelvic) fins, anal, and caudal (soft dorsal) fins.
Also, when aiming, anticipate where the fish may go. Get as close as you can. They don't swim backwards, but can turn pretty quick. Shoot so if you miss they are cornered.

If you don't want to cut fins off in the water, you can use a zookeeper..Home Page
 
You can hold steady the LF for spine removal by either placing your thumb and forefinger in it's eyes, or stick your thumb in it's mouth. The teeth are really small they don't bite. Don't worry about the big pectoral fins. Those are just show. You need to cut off the dorsal fin, the ventral (pelvic) fins, anal, and caudal (soft dorsal) fins.
Also, when aiming, anticipate where the fish may go. Get as close as you can. They don't swim backwards, but can turn pretty quick. Shoot so if you miss they are cornered.

If you don't want to cut fins off in the water, you can use a zookeeper..Home Page

If a multi-prong spear tip is used, and multiple prongs are delivered to the head or gill plate region, the fish will, to a large extent, be immobilized .

This should eliminate the need to actually grab the fish with your hands when placing it in a bag, clipping spines or removing the fish from the spear. Avoiding the temptation for direct contact with the fish is one of the benefits of a "paralyzer" tip over a single prong device which may allow the fish to move or spin, sometimes at the worst time.
 
Not wanting to hijack the thread, but I have long believed that Lionfish hunting in the name of conservation is just a cover for all these conservation indoctrinated instructors to release their inner cave man.

I was recently in Cayman, and when we dived the rarely dived sites they were teeming with Lionfish, but the reefs were also vibrant and full of marine life. When we dived the more popular sites the instructors had hunted the Lionfish to extinction, but the coral was generally pretty trampled and marine life scarce.

From this I concluded that divers are far more harmful to the marine environment than Lionfish. I have no problem with people hunting Lionfish, but the faux conservationism is starting to wear on me.

 
Not wanting to hijack the thread, but I have long believed that Lionfish hunting in the name of conservation is just a cover for all these conservation indoctrinated instructors to release their inner cave man.

I was recently in Cayman, and when we dived the rarely dived sites they were teeming with Lionfish, but the reefs were also vibrant and full of marine life. When we dived the more popular sites the instructors had hunted the Lionfish to extinction, but the coral was generally pretty trampled and marine life scarce.

From this I concluded that divers are far more harmful to the marine environment than Lionfish. I have no problem with people hunting Lionfish, but the faux conservationism is starting to wear on me.


But hugging trees isn't nearly as tasty. . .
 

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