I just saw this thread and I swear I can not eve fathom spending 180.00 for a fricken course plus another 250.00 or so to help with this problem....
You, I, all of us would like to see this Lion Fish problem get under control and eventually completely resolved... But to charge for a class and buying some meatball apparatus that could be made on the cheep just blows me away...!
I use to have a Lion Fish in my salt tank many years ago so if you want to inform divers of the nasty sting, fine... do so but if you want to try and nip this problem in the bud... Well, you have a whole group of divers who would be more than willing to help remove as many of these critters as possible...! Here is the catch... We wont charge anybody a dime!!! Shoot, we will pay for the air if the tourist industry is unwilling to help us to help them...
Look, I get it... If I want to continue to enjoy what I love to do then I should want to help with this project... Well I do want to help but I will be damn if I pay 1 fricken cent for some sort of BS class that they (the entire seafood, tourist, and dive industry) would be grateful to have us do...
They should be paying us...!!!
You want to protect your damn reefs??? Quit letting these idiots who have no buoyancy control jump in with cameras!!! Let them train butt naked with nothing but fire coral around and either there buoyancy will improve or they will get the hell out of the water!!!
Now honestly, I really don't care much if I have ticked off anyone much... But if you want to try and take care of this problem then let us go and get em...! and if someone wants to pay for my air... well, now we have some team work going!!!
Respectfully, lee