Lionfish are HERE

[tntgalbreath]

They are an invasive species, and take over any reefs that they occupy!!!

 

[BKP]

Hmm... so educate me, why are you killing lionfish? Correct me if I am wrong but they are poisonous so you can not eat them and they don't really mess with divers, at least in my limited experience with them and stonefish. So what's the point in spear-fishing them, other than fun, when you could get snapper or something you could eat instead?

Actually... you *can* eat them. The spines are poisonous, not the flesh.

They don't mess with divers, however, they mess with everything else. They have basically no predation fears, and eat everything... voraciously...

 

[chris_b]

May be time to get some Pants.

Nah, I'm used to wandering around in my skivvies. Or going commando in my wetsuit!

 

[jhayes75]

Ok, I will educate the unknown. Lion fish eat 30 to 40 small fish per hour. In the Caribbean it was estimated that if left alone for 5 years at that rate, they would extinct the reef population. The large ones that are producing these pest are at depths beyond a divers reach. So we are catching the littles ones and the occasional adult that comes to the shallower depths. My last trip to Cozumel we collected and disposed of at least 15 Lion fish in a 8 day stretch. We saved 14,400 small fish per day. This does not reflect the damage of those 15 laying 30,000 eggs every 3 days.

 

[tedfirediver]

I dove the Oriskany in many times in the latter months of 08 and it was covered in the prickly bastards but I havnt seen one again in over a year?

 

[GLENFWB]

I think you are talking about urchins not Lionfish???? I don't know anyone that has reported seeing a Lionfish on the Oriskany.

I dove the Oriskany in many times in the latter months of 08 and it was covered in the prickly bastards but I havnt seen one again in over a year?

 

[jalistair]

hmm so where are these fellows from originally?

 

[pro99line]

They are native to the Indo-Pacific area and I believe possibly South Pacific also but not sure.

 

[Hetland]

hmm so where are these fellows from originally?

It is suspected that some dumb@$$, or more likely, several dumb@$$es released them from their aquariums into the Atlantic around Florida.

 

[GLENFWB]

I will disagree with this statement. Most maps that are tracking the movement of Lionfish, show a progression along established currents. With the amount of eggs laid per fish, it is easy to see how these guys are spreading. Also, a single Lionfish dumped in a location doesn't do much for breeding. The progression around the southern Gulf has been well documented for years. The fact that they are moving North is not a surprise and probably has nothing to do with people releasing them from aquariums.

Map Viewer

It is suspected that some dumb@$$, or more likely, several dumb@$$es released them from their aquariums into the Atlantic around Florida.