Coz lionfish

[Scuba_Jenny]

Any lionfish killings allowed? I got a handy dandy liontamer I would love to get put to good use...

 

[KevinHoward]

We were just down there over Christmas and this is what I learned.

It is still illegal to wear gloves or to carry a "spear" in the national park. The dive masters we dove with couldn't "promote" the killing of the lion fish. However every one I that I mentioned to that I had spotted several lion fish asked if I had killed them.

I saw several divers carrying spears and using them.

Kevin

 

[diversteve]

A couple of related links. Not sure if it's just the dive operators doing the killing.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/357261-lionfish-tournament-results-yesterday.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tr...-hunter-specialty-course-offered-cozumel.html

 

[Midget]

I'm uneducated (but learning) on the woes of lionfish in the Carib and Atlantic.

So I am curious, are the speared lionfish removed?

The spines are still venomous after the lionfish is dead. Does this have any negative impact on the fish eating them? Sorry, I had no luck with Google. I'm just thinking that if the Carib fish didn't evolve with them, they wouldn't have the ability to neutralize the venom in their digestive systems.

 

[ROXANNE]

I did see this on Dive Paradise's Facebook.

(Copied from their page)
Dive Paradise - New advisory from our Marine Park Officials...effective immediately, they're restricting the hunting and killing of Lionfish to trained, professional staff in Cozumel who may only use the approved devices they have provided. This is being done to protect your safety. So when you come to visit us, please leave your slin...gs, guns (really) and other lionfish slaying devices at home.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

WOW. Maybe too many people were getting over zealous and trashing the reefs....

 

[boulderjohn]

I'm uneducated (but learning) on the woes of lionfish in the Carib and Atlantic.

So I am curious, are the speared lionfish removed?

The spines are still venomous after the lionfish is dead. Does this have any negative impact on the fish eating them? Sorry, I had no luck with Google. I'm just thinking that if the Carib fish didn't evolve with them, they wouldn't have the ability to neutralize the venom in their digestive systems.

As I understand it from past threads...

Experiments with getting Atlantic and Caribbean predators to eat lion fish have not gone well. Some large groupers have been fed dead lion fish and have eaten them without a problem, but they still don't seem to be going after them on their own.

 

[boulderjohn]

WOW. Maybe too many people were getting over zealous and trashing the reefs....

I would guess it is more likely exactly what they said. With the large numbers of divers in the area, I think they are afraid someone will injure others (or themselves) whilst going after the lion fish.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Yep. That too!

Guess I will just have to kill them here...

 

[Dehydrated_Atom]

I'm uneducated (but learning) on the woes of lionfish in the Carib and Atlantic.

So I am curious, are the speared lionfish removed?

The spines are still venomous after the lionfish is dead. Does this have any negative impact on the fish eating them? Sorry, I had no luck with Google. I'm just thinking that if the Carib fish didn't evolve with them, they wouldn't have the ability to neutralize the venom in their digestive systems.

Our DM's were catching and killing the Lionfish and then feeding the dead bodies to Sea Anemone's. It was something to see. The Anemone just engulfed the Lionfish and made it disappear.