Declining dive quality?

[ChrisM]

Thanks. I think I will restrict my handling of lionfish to the coconut encrusted ones at La Perlita.

That's a delicious policy

 

[deepsea21]

View attachment 398102 @sharky60
Still bringing up stringers like this from above 100 feet. Just not in the marine park.
Kill em all!

"Just not in the marine park"!!! ??? Where is this crazy marine park that is still not allowing hunters to kill these friggin' things within its bounds? These marine parks that still prohibit Lionfish hunting will have few native fish left to protect if they don't get a clue and fast. Lionfish hunting and killing should not only be allowed absolutely everywhere but encouraged. I read some BS a while ago that spear points that miss their Lionfish target could hit and damage coral! Can you even believe that? What a load of crap! Umm.. Anyone ever seen the damage a Turtle or a Parrot Fish can do to coral with one chomp?

 

[lionfish-eater]

What Sallye meant was that there are few pez leon left in the park due to the hunting that has been going on for years. If you want to find fish like she is showing at recreational depths, you have to go outside the park where there is less hunting pressure.

 

[gopbroek]

"Just not in the marine park"!!! ??? Where is this crazy marine park that is still not allowing hunters to kill these friggin' things within its bounds? These marine parks that still prohibit Lionfish hunting will have few native fish left to protect if they don't get a clue and fast. Lionfish hunting and killing should not only be allowed absolutely everywhere but encouraged. I read some BS a while ago that spear points that miss their Lionfish target could hit and damage coral! Can you even believe that? What a load of crap! Umm.. Anyone ever seen the damage a Turtle or a Parrot Fish can do to coral with one chomp?

Ever notice how so many large lion fish seem to be reported as taken off Villa Blanca?

 

[crabbyfiddler]

Thanks. I think I will restrict my handling of lionfish to the coconut encrusted ones at La Perlita.

Wear puncture proof gloves and cut the spines with scissors. Voila! Makes great ceviche.

 

[ggunn]

"Just not in the marine park"!!! ??? Where is this crazy marine park that is still not allowing hunters to kill these friggin' things within its bounds?

Take a chill pill there, buckaroo.
Because of the aggressive stance Cozumel has taken toward lionfish, you have to go either outside the park or very deep within the park to find them of any size. They don't encourage tourist divers to run off shooting at anything that might be a lionfish, but lionfish are the only unprotected species in the park and they are hunted within the park enthusiastically.

 

[lionfish-eater]

Gordy, you should definitely stay far away from lionfish, they are a gateway fish.
I am doing everything I can to help.
Anyone interested in donating to this cause can pm me and I will give you instructions on how to donate money.

 

[Pelagicsal]

Okay. I had to pause it. When they said Puerto Rico and surfing, I figured this was some mischief from my old dive crowd in Rincon, Taino Divers.
Sure enough, there it is!
Back to watch. Thanks for sharing it!

Makes me miss Carson, Bundy, Señor Teem, Sammy the Bear, Stretch, Charlie, Painter, Billy......
Good times. Lots of laughs with those crazy bastards. Some great diving, too!
I think they'd be shocked to watch me hunt lionfish. But I'm not fished out. No, no, no! Not meeee

 

[deepsea21]

What Sallye meant was that there are few pez leon left in the park due to the hunting that has been going on for years. If you want to find fish like she is showing at recreational depths, you have to go outside the park where there is less hunting pressure.

Thank God... Glad to hear she didn't share a photo taken elsewhere from some park that was still prohibiting the shooting of these nasty things. I remember years ago a Lion was kind of cool to see before anyone knew about the population explosion that was going to take place. Kind of like seeing a mouse... One mouse is cute and ya say, "aww.. look at that cute little mouse". Then ya let it go and 6 months later you have 100's of them running around and then they are no longer cute and you do everything in your power to kill them all.

You are right, Lions in the common dive sites of Coz these days are getting rare which is absolutely fantastic to see. What I find really spooky is the other 99.999% of the vast area these things have invaded (pretty much everywhere) that don't experience the pressure 1000's of Cozumel hunting divers have put on them. Makes one wonder if some day Coz may be the only destination in the Caribbean where we'll still see some common reef fish.

 

[Pelagicsal]

Deepsea21, Cozumel heeded the warnings from other areas already being overrun with lionfish. From the first one sighted in January 2009, we were taking them out of the water. The marine park even ran volunteer hunting trips for awhile there. Eight years later, there's even more pressure on them from dive staff, recreational hunters, and commercial hunters.
Even outside the park, plenty of areas stay pretty Fished Out. We just keep exploring and finding them wherever we can!
July 2009

Cozumel Lionfish

• Pelagicsal
• Jul 4, 2009
• aldora cozumel lionfish

Captured 7/4/09 at Palancar Cuevones and Yucab. Go David!!!

February 2017