Dan wants to protect divers from the dangers of Lionfish

[SAPIUS]

I think the best gloves out there for lion fish culling is Hex Amor gloves ( HexArmor® | Leader in Cut, Puncture and Impact Protection | HexArmor ) Company makes a whole line of puncture/cut/needle penetration resistant gloves. As to the question of lion fish impact to "ecosystem"... there is a reason this fish is called an 'invasive species' in the Caribbean basin and a need to control. I still believe the key is getting native species to learn that the lion fish are part of the food chain and thus balance will return.

 

[b-dog]

As to the question of lion fish impact to "ecosystem"... there is a reason this fish is called an 'invasive species' in the Caribbean basin and a need to control. I still believe the key is getting native species to learn that the lion fish are part of the food chain and thus balance will return.

I don't think there will ever be balance. I think the over-fishing of snappers, groupers and other predatory fish is one reason the lionfish are so numerous. The lionfish are just filling the role of the reef predator fishes that have been removed from the ecosystem. Lionfish hide under rocks and other hiding places and they do not seem to be as easily fished as the other fishes so this allows them to increase in number. And combine that with the amount of smaller fishes that are on the reefs due to reduction in their natural predators then you have a big food source for lionfish. But, I don't think it is the end of the world that there are lionfish in the Caribbean, there does not seem to be an upper limit to the number of fish species that can exist in the same ecosystem as there are maybe 10 times as many species of fish living in the coral triangle in the Indo-pacific area.

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I think if people were serious about wanting a predator to be able to eat lionfish then they would just leave them alone. If they do not hunt lionfish and allow them to become numerous on the coral reefs then big groupers, snappers and sharks would be much more likely to eat them because there would be a lot of lionfish to eat. Groupers, snappers and sharks eat lionfish after a diver has speared them so if they were hungry enough then they would likley eat them without the help of divers. In some ways killing lionfish and then feeding them to fish is counterproductive because the fish learn to get a free meal from divers instead of hunting on their own. Also, if fish are fed by divers then they are not as hungry so they are less likely to go hunt for food on their own.

 

[Nylorac]

I think if people were serious about wanting a predator to be able to eat lionfish then they would just leave them alone. If they do not hunt lionfish and allow them to become numerous on the coral reefs then big groupers, snappers and sharks would be much more likely to eat them because there would be a lot of lionfish to eat. Groupers, snappers and sharks eat lionfish after a diver has speared them so if they were hungry enough then they would likley eat them without the help of divers. In some ways killing lionfish and then feeding them to fish is counterproductive because the fish learn to get a free meal from divers instead of hunting on their own. Also, if fish are fed by divers then they are not as hungry so they are less likely to go hunt for food on their own.[/QUOTE]


Sounds good BUT dived with a serious researcher/doctor recently on GC who explained it well - Darwin and all that - you will not make a change in the short run by feeding them. It will take many, many, many generations (thousands and more, more) for the locals to see them as a real food source. I think many people that have been diving in the caribbean would agree that leaving them alone now is a recipe for disaster. To those who don't dive in these waters - THE LION FISH HAVE NO NATURAL PREDATORS - if you have been diving anywhere in the caribbean you see them everywhere and they eat everything.

 

[b-dog]

Sounds good BUT dived with a serious researcher/doctor recently on GC who explained it well - Darwin and all that - you will not make a change in the short run by feeding them. It will take many, many, many generations (thousands and more, more) for the locals to see them as a real food source. I think many people that have been diving in the caribbean would agree that leaving them alone now is a recipe for disaster. To those who don't dive in these waters - THE LION FISH HAVE NO NATURAL PREDATORS - if you have been diving anywhere in the caribbean you see them everywhere and they eat everything.

Fish have huge spawns and thus evolution comes quickly with them. Animals with small brood sizes tend to be the ones that have much harder times to adapt to new stresses. When the round gobies came to the Great Lakes everyone said that they would eat all of the eggs of the bass and lead to their extinction. Well later there are more bass than ever because the bass now eat the round goby as a primary food source. They now make lures that look like round gobies for fishing bass because bass now think of gobies as a preferred food. Nature has a way to work things out.

 

[Deac in the Wake]

Interesting development on a disagreement between NOAA and the FDA's respective positions on consuming lionfish. NOAA: yes you should eat 'em. FDA: probably not.

Eat lionfish? Sure, but beware of the nasty toxins - Vitals

“Once stripped of its venomous spines, cleaned and filleted like any other fish, the lionfish becomes delectable seafood fare,” NOAA officials enthused.But another government agency, the Food and Drug Administration, now frowns on the “Eat Lionfish” campaign after tests of nearly 200 lionfish show that more than a quarter exceed federal levels for a toxin that can cause ciguatera, a potentially dangerous fish food poisoning.
​

Lionfish is $16 a pound in the US?!? I cringe at the money I've lost. But there are happy lobsters, reef fish, groupers, and sharks thanks to me.

I'd also like to know where they culled the test group from. They mention the gulf coast but I can't read that that's the test area. I want to know the diversity of the sample group.

 

[Misty89]

Some related links:
Amid concerns about ciguatera poisoning, reassurance that lionfish caught in Bermuda are safe to eat | Green Antilles
More data emerges about ciguatera toxin in lionfish | Green Antilles
Testing continues to assess prevalence of ciguatera toxin in lionfish in the Caribbean | Green Antilles
cayCompass.com :: Lionfish tested for toxins
Eat lionfish? Sure, but beware of the nasty toxins - Vitals

Detail of the study for fish from the Cayman Islands:
http://www.car-spaw-rac.org/IMG/pdf...n_in_Red_Lionfish_from_the_Cayman_Islands.pdf

Tons more out there...but I have to get back to work. The one I had in Belize earlier this year was yummy! Would love to have another in GCM in August