Lionfish Hunting in Roatan

[CajunDiva]

We are so happy to be back at Fantasy Island with our extended family again. Our first dive day was amazing, as usual. As luck would have it, (really as our divemaster Daren would have it!) our first dive of the day was Mary's Place.

The first thing we ran into was our old friend Mark Washington leading his group from CocoView. Apparently he had a successful lionfish hunt. Here's the proof:

 

[d_lafleur]

Hey Cajun Diva, Hello.

Tell Hank, you know the one, I said Hello also.

I see Mark is now using Ziplocs for hunting, I wonder where he got that idea????

 

[CajunDiva]

Hey Cajun Diva, Hello.

Tell Hank, you know the one, I said Hello also.

I see Mark is now using Ziplocs for hunting, I wonder where he got that idea????

Probably from some smart cajuns he's been hanging out with

 

[Doc]

From this guy:

 

[local76sparky]

totally naive question here: are we eating these lionfish or catching them for a tank??

 

[Furnari]

FWIW, we were at FIBR in early December- saw one Lion Fish out at a dive site, but saw at least 3 while snorkling in the bay in front of the main resort building- out by the point where the dive boats go out the channel towards the Prince Albert. Had fun trying to come up with some means to spear them with sharpened sticks (we're kind of rednecky)- someone at the airport on the way home mentioned the baggie trick- Doh!

As an aside- snorkling in that bay was something that doesn't get mentioned enough- we saw a lot of neat stuff out there- our only octo of the trip, squid, a ray, lots of smaller and juvenile fish, better lighting for photography, etc. By the end of the week we were even doing night snorkels out there.

 

[d_lafleur]

From this guy:

RoatanMan is correct. However one of dem Cajuns was discussing that "Clear Nets" AKA Ziploc bags work well with critters that have decent visual capabilities.

Mark had one of the Lion Fish hitch a ride on his tank back in Sept. It kept him out of the "hunting business" for a bit.

 

[robint]

Reports on the NC diving Forum, various dive shops there, discuss eating lionfish. They say that you must cut off the spines on their back (that is the only place with any venom) but after that they can be prepared like other fish. They say the lionfish taste just like grouper!

 

[godive19]

Lionfish are an invasive species that is decimating native fish populations. they are being trapped to remove them from the environment. Not for eating or display.

 

[robint]

Lionfish are an invasive species that is decimating native fish populations. they are being trapped to remove them from the environment. Not for eating or display.

yes, we realize why they are being caught, I just wanted to point out that they are edible. Why just kill them if you can eat them and they taste good???