Bad Lionfish news for Coz

[fdog]

*Disclaimer* I am not a marine biologist, and have not stayed in a Holiday Inn Express for over a month.

We just returned from a week at Scuba Club Cozumel, and there is little doubt in my mind that the lionfish infestation is a done deal for Coz. In fact, I am sure that few, including the locals, have any idea of the real magnitude.

We brought our scooters, and dove them in a lot of the places that divers just usually don't go. For example, we ran out to the dropoff right outside Scuba Club, and ran the contour at 80' to 100' for about a quarter mile.

The density of large, mature lionfish was beyond belief. Easily, in every 10' of distance over the bottom, there were 2 or 3 lionfish inside sponges or hiding in the lee of a sponge. I stopped trying to count them after the first 100' or so. They were everywhere; we ran up and down in depth, and they started at about 60' deep.

Oh. My. God.

We did less scootering than we usually do, mostly doing boat dives. Inside the park, they were positively nonexsistent by comparison; get outside the park, away from the well dove areas, and they are the dominant fish.

On one night dive, we ran a mile along the coast, staying shallow. It wasn't the density we saw on the dropoff - maybe 1/10th (about 1 fish every 30') - but they were everywhere.

Get used to them, they're here.



All the best, James

 

[MarineResearch]

I am not a biologist, but I have several that work for me. From a recent NOAA conference:

Lionfish experts are in agreement that invasive lionfish populations will continue to grow and cannot be eliminated using conventional methods. Lionfishes have become established along the southeastern coast of the United States, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and throughout the Caribbean.

The participants agree that it is unlikely that the lionfish invasion can be reversed. Due to their extensive geographical range and diversity of habitats and depths they occupy, any major attempts to eradicate existing lionfish populations would be impractical and doomed to failure. Control is now the only option left. Possible control measures that have been considered include recovering and maintaining native populations of predators, such as large groupers, sharks, and others that prey on lionfish eggs, larvae, and juveniles. A participant noted that in Palau, locations with high numbers of large and medium-sized groupers also had low numbers of lionfish. Other measure to control the lionfish population explosion include killing those lionfishes that are easily spotted and captured; controlling the aquarium trade in lionfishes in the Americas (um, a little late for that); encouraging a lionfish fishery for human consumption and other commercial uses, such as harvesting for the aquarium trade; reducing fishing pressure on native competitors that occupy the same ecological niche; and biological control (although no specifics were offered).

So, here we are today:

And the expected distribution in the future:

See The IndoPacific lionfish invasion of the U.S. south Atlantic sea coast and Caribbean Sea for all the details.

 

[MMM]

In the regularly dived areas, the DMs do a good job of controlling. But once you get out of the regularly dived areas, they are EVERYWHERE. The Marine Park needs to think this one through a bit better so that those same people who are killing them on their "regular" dives, are doing so in less frequented locations.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Well thats not all that bad, there not going to the pacific, and texas will have more to look at while diving, the oil did not hurt these guys in any way.

What is it that attracts them, fdog says there in sponges, can ya build a trap that has same sponge like to attract so it can get commercially fished out, they fish out every thing else.


If this is an underwater war, will the UN give a stimulus to pay for spearfishing tournaments, back in the day a tournament brought up tons of fish.

I see the study what is in the plans marineresearch?

 

[Craig66]

Possibly the main predators that need to be introduced to the lion fish is in fact the ultimate apex predator - man. It would seem that the lion fish 'meat" is tasty and abundant and the fish itself relatively easily caught and yet it seems that as a menu item it is still considered a rarity and delicacy. I would be quite happy having lion fish tacos all week on my next trip yet it seems except for an occasional restaurant it is not that easy to come by?

 

[Mike]

*Disclaimer* I am not a marine biologist, and have not stayed in a Holiday Inn Express for over a month.

We just returned from a week at Scuba Club Cozumel, and there is little doubt in my mind that the lionfish infestation is a done deal for Coz. In fact, I am sure that few, including the locals, have any idea of the real magnitude.

We brought our scooters, and dove them in a lot of the places that divers just usually don't go. For example, we ran out to the dropoff right outside Scuba Club, and ran the contour at 80' to 100' for about a quarter mile.

The density of large, mature lionfish was beyond belief. Easily, in every 10' of distance over the bottom, there were 2 or 3 lionfish inside sponges or hiding in the lee of a sponge. I stopped trying to count them after the first 100' or so. They were everywhere; we ran up and down in depth, and they started at about 60' deep.

Oh. My. God.

We did less scootering than we usually do, mostly doing boat dives. Inside the park, they were positively nonexsistent by comparison; get outside the park, away from the well dove areas, and they are the dominant fish.

On one night dive, we ran a mile along the coast, staying shallow. It wasn't the density we saw on the dropoff - maybe 1/10th (about 1 fish every 30') - but they were everywhere.

Get used to them, they're here.



All the best, James

Your findings verify what I've always said that there is no solution to them through any means that involves divers since divers can only effect small areas and depths to 130 ft. It's always been my thoughts that beyond recreational limits you'd find shockingly large populations of lionfish. Your findings pretty much confirm my thoughts as they mirror my musings in that any areas not commonly dived will have large portions of unmolested lionfish breeding away.

 

[Brules]

If you want to erradicate something, turn man onto it.....we will take care of them in no time lol.

There needs to be an island wide movement to turn the general population onto them....make it open season on them (no restrictions outside of park hunting them) and maybe it will cause people to hunt them to sell to shops and restaurants.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Possibly the main predators that need to be introduced to the lion fish is in fact the ultimate apex predator - man. It would seem that the lion fish 'meat" is tasty and abundant and the fish itself relatively easily caught and yet it seems that as a menu item it is still considered a rarity and delicacy.

I wonder if any of that has to do with ciguatera? If the lionfish is a reef fish and not a pelagic, could it be a carrier of ciguatera? Back when I was in a position to be eating fish in various tropical locations, we just went by "local knowledge"; now I think I read that there may be relatively easy ciguatera tests (there weren't then). I don't know if those would be practical to give in terms of a commercial fishery.

I also don't know that ciguatera is a consideration; I'm just musing based on how we had to be careful of reef fish some years ago vis-a-vis ciguatera.

Blue Sparkle

 

[scubafanatic]

I wonder if the infestation will get so bad as to 'close off' to divers places like swim-throughs, rendering many popular dive spots too dangerous for divers? Who will want to go through any lower vis (dark) enclosed/tight areas when the 'walls' are potentially crawling with these poisonous little 'landmines' that can't be seen or avoided until it's too late?

 

[warmwaterturner]

"The density of large, mature lionfish was beyond belief. Easily, in every 10' of distance over the bottom, there were 2 or 3 lionfish inside sponges or hiding in the lee of a sponge. I stopped trying to count them after the first 100' or so. They were everywhere; we ran up and down in depth, and they started at about 60' deep."

Yep, bad news for the otherside as well. Just got off the plane from Playa del Carmen. One site in particular - "Tortugas" was well populated by mature Lionfish. Curious note - the dive guide made no attempt to point them out or to harvest the little bast**ds.