Invasion

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RickI

Contributor
Messages
694
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Location
SE Florida
# of dives
I just don't log dives
Lionfish_7_s.jpg


We were diving on a shallow wreck north of Bimini in the Bahamas yesterday and guess what showed up? A venomous fish that I thought for several decades only occurred in the Pacific.

No longer, the red lionfish apparently lacking natural predators has shown up at widespread locations along the east coast of the USA and in the Bahamas. Quite a few folks on here may have already known this however it was news to me on the reef.

More photos, video clip and info at:

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Kill it.

Oh pretty please.
 
I was in the Bahamas last year and saw one resident in a small wreck...this year, they took me to a site full of the buggers so they are spreading quickly. As you say - no natural preditors so sometimes the dive op staff head out on days off to try and kill them.
 
I was diving in North Carolina last weekend and they were all over the Schurz and the U-352. I lost count around 20 on the Schurz. Some of the other wrecks had them too. Pretty fish but apparently no predators.
 
Oyster Diver:
I was diving in North Carolina last weekend and they were all over the Schurz and the U-352. I lost count around 20 on the Schurz. Some of the other wrecks had them too. Pretty fish but apparently no predators.

20, amazing. Did you see them in groups at all? I understand the younger lionfish collect in groups under ledges, etc. in the Indo Pacific.

So, what to try to do about this? Current indications are the expansion of lionfish populations will be a bad thing and at the expense of some native species.

I have long been impressed with the capacity of overfishing to deplete species. We seem to have a knack for this. Why not apply this urge to something more productive? Government might even take it a step further and offer a bounty for each lionfish brought in.

I know the depth range of lionfish may remove a portion of the population from ready harvesting (spearing) in this fashion but the shallower components should be fairly vulnerable. Care would have to be used by the hunters to avoid getting stung of course including transfer of the fish. Input on this?
 
RickI:
20, amazing. Did you see them in groups at all? I understand the younger lionfish collect in groups under ledges, etc. in the Indo Pacific.

So, what to try to do about this? Current indications are the expansion of lionfish populations will be a bad thing and at the expense of some native species.

I have long been impressed with the capacity of overfishing to deplete species. We seem to have a knack for this. Why not apply this urge to something more productive? Government might even take it a step further and offer a bounty for each lionfish brought in.

I know the depth range of lionfish may remove a portion of the population from ready harvesting (spearing) in this fashion but the shallower components should be fairly vulnerable. Care would have to be used by the hunters to avoid getting stung of course including transfer of the fish. Input on this?

the numbers people are seeing on the wrecks in the 80-120ft range are pretty insiginificant.. Anyone who has gone to the rock ledges in 130ft of water know that the liofish are EVERYWHERE.. 2 years ago I counted 50 within a few minutes swim from the anchor line before I stopped counting..
 
archman:
Kill it.

Oh pretty please.
Do you have a recommended technique?
 
Well theres only one thing left to do. We need to capture a bunch of Indo-Pacific predators and transport them to the east coast of U.S. in hopes that they will eat the lionfish.
 

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