Lionfish Awareness and Elimination

[firstdive2005]

While I think it is a good idea to have a place for certain types of people to learn about killing lionfish, those with no friends to teach them. I truly get annoyed that the governing bodies around the islands we dive are led to believe that it is a must to have this course and others like it before being allowed to kill the lion fish. I suppose that it is an opportunity for some to make money but nonetheless I dive with many great hunters that have never had a course and we have to have a course to prove we can kill them and not hurt the reef at the same time? Or ourselves for that matter! I have been on dive boats with divers that should not be allowed to dive because their skills are so bad. But they have a padi advanced card so they MUST be good divers. What a difficult sport to monitor. Is a card the answer. Or maybe doing a check out dive on the island we go to and prove hunting skills might be the better way to go. Say pay 20$ to prove the skill and the money goes to preservation of the local reef. Each diver would be given the card only upon proving good skill. Yet he must prove his skill each location to let the examiner see that their skill is kept honed, not like rec divers that dive 10 times a year and call themselves advanced.
The Lion fish predicament has many opinions for and against. I am for localized culling as the local dive reefs would be havens for the juvies. Who knows what the answer really is, I suppose every little bit counts in the fight to help keep the local reef fishes from being decimated by the pez leon. ps sorry if I sounded like an ass about rec diving but I'm not, I just worry about those that dont practise their dive skills and go out thinking they are just riding a horse.

 

[SeekerOfJustice]

I like the idea of a course but don't like that you must have it to play an active role in culling these. In st Thomas last year I dove a few spots where the DM's carried these floating markers. Think weight with small bright foam bobber he would place where the lion was. I inquired and they said that lions there don't move around too much and this allows them co come back later without an audience and spear the fish etc. Good idea if effective I suppose.

 

[New York Rick]

Just back from drift diving in Akumal, Mexico. Glad to say two controls underway. All the divemasters were spearing them after I took pictures. All the local cochinas advertise lionfish tacos!

 

[stcroix]

Just back from drift diving in Akumal, Mexico. Glad to say two controls underway. All the divemasters were spearing them after I took pictures. All the local cochinas advertise lionfish tacos!

Here on St Croix we currently do NOT recommend eating Lionfish due to ciguatera.

The local LF hunting group has been sending their catches to the local university and some to the FDA. Some have ciguatera. Makes sense since LF eat reef fishies, and that's where ciguatera is concentrated.

 

[turnerjd]

Here on St Croix we currently do NOT recommend eating Lionfish due to ciguatera.

The local LF hunting group has been sending their catches to the local university and some to the FDA. Some have ciguatera. Makes sense since LF eat reef fishies, and that's where ciguatera is concentrated.

As always, this is the problem with being at the top of the food chain. Eating lots of smaller fishies with low levels of ciguatera will lead to the build-up of toxins in the predator. How much was the "some" a small percentage? half?

I didn't know what ciguatera was, and looked it up on the wikipedia page. It doesn't look nice at all.

Jon

 

[Bhtmec2]

Here in PR we are going out in groups to hunt every time we get a free moment. The PR fish and game sponsor a seminar and after you get registered you can kill as many of the little buggers you can find. A lot of people are eating them but I prefer to just leave a trail of dead ones across the reef.

 

[stcroix]

Training is always a good thing.

The most egregious safety issue with spearguns is not an underwater one. It's people who mishandle them while on the boat. This scares off the tourists and veteran divers alike, and the operators would be wise to require some sort of certification.

The biggest saftey concern has to do with the TIP. Most spearguns and pole manufacturers don't sell tip covers, so the user has to mod the gun to add a safety tip. Noobs tend not to do this until somebody tells them (usually after they've left the spear laying uncovered on a seat or deck), or the dive operator insists on it. I see the same thing with shore divers who have pole spears. They forget their buddy might be right next to them. Tip covers should be required.

If I were certifying, I'd make "certifying the equipment's safety" part of the course.

Last but not least, are the divers who forget you have a speargun, or are transfixed by the sight of a LF, and swim up close to you as you're about to spear in order to get a better look. A good spearfisherman keeps the point aimed down and the gun unloaded until needed. But some idiots will crowd you. So training should include the spearfisherman asking people not to crowd, or a SIGNAL that people would understand that means "back off"at least 6 feet when the speargun is uncapped.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

I'm going to say I agree with those who say a class is a fine idea, but should not be mandatory. I'm one of those warm water wussies who only dive on vacation (although I did get in 70 dives in our first year of certification). I also managed to shoot and kill 21 Lionfish on our last trip to Cancun, without doing anything to damage the reef or our group. Without a class. Our guide (Alvaro from AlwaysDiving.com) always shoots them, and if your skills are good enough that you can handle the hunt without danger to the reef or the divers, then you can shoot them too. That seems a better way to determine who shoots than a card.

For the record, I use a Foldspear with a JBL trident tip, and it stays covered except when I'm shooting. And I stay to the rear of the group so other divers have their chance to oogle the critter before it gets shot.

I also think a similar "not allowed unless you can do it without crashing into the reef" rule ought to apply to photographers.

 

[Guba]

From what I've been able to glean from a number of folks who routinely shoot lionfish, they don't use traditional spearguns at all. Most use sling spears or even (mostly home-made) versions of the "lionkiller"--very short slingspears with almost blunt tips. They're compact, extremely safe, effective, and virtually idiot-proof. There's almost no possible way to accidentally shoot another diver. Of course, they're very short range, and they're nowhere near as "sexy" or impressive to other divers on the boat (don't laugh...I know some guys who work very hard at impressing young lasses on the boat with their "equipment" lol.)

 

[Bhtmec2]

I use a homemade small hand sling and a medium size hawaiian sling. I pull off the paralyzer and have made a PVC tube to store the tips until time to get wet. This keeps everyone safe from me and their lack of situational awareness.

I wish that I could buy a gross of orange tips since I lose a lot. It is amazing how people will just swim between someone when you are fixed on your tgt and about to kill another little bugger (LF).

The problem with some of those open market lion gamers/killers with the blunt point's is they do not work well with the smaller LF. I made mine a little sharper and I can get them before they can breed. As for the card to go and kill the little buggers I say no. A free course is my take on it......