Lionfish/DM's don't care!

[tridacna]

Less than half, I'm sure.... Scarey otherwise. Will check my Gallup subscription at work to see if I can find recent polling data.

Photo: Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds

Beliefs of the U.S. public about evolution and creation

and Gallup:

Atheism and the Scientific Community

Oh much more actually. Americans are much more religious/dumb than you suspect. Only Turkey beats us out in this category. It boggles the mind. But makes it much easier to comprehend this morbid fascination with Palin who needs to be treated like a lionfish, (just to keep this on subject before we get tossed into the pub).

 

[Pelagicsal]

Yeah, Jeremy is good friends with one of the Aldora DMs and David strikes me as the right name. Easy on the eyes (if you're a woman), around 30, slim, dark, and very friendly. Do I have the right guy?

Ummmmm.... no... As much as I adore David, that does not describe him! You must be referring to that cover of a romance novel, Javier. Certainly brightens the day to look at him - and be around him. Even straight guys will admit he's great looking!
Major fun in the water, too. Seems to be as moved to watch a turtle soar to the surface as I am. Diving with him convinced me to up my leg work so I can keep up when he streaks away to get a better look at something cool he's spotted. And, yes, consummately friendly.
He has one and a half captures. Wish we'd gotten that one yesterday. Bet he has a better bag today!
So I guess I will ask Javier about Jeremy's lionfish... and ask him for a tip for this testimonial. jijiji

Better go slather on the sunscreen!

 

[alohagal]

Hey all,

Well saw another lionfish on Night Dive two nights ago...that would be 7/12/09. It was right next to the Sting ray pin on the northern side near the end of the pin here at Blue Angel. The two divers I was with reported it to Jose. He seemed to already know about it. (He was the one who captured one the other day). I leave today...so Christi...you may want to report that one in...not sure what Jose's plans are!

I have photos of 3 of them. So far I have seen 4 lionfish on this trip. Only one captured in my presence.

I will repeat. If DM's are diving everyday, it certainly behooves them to capture or report Lionfish in the area. My gosh man, gives them something to do while in the ocean 4 to 5 times a day. Certainly cannot hurt...and at least will abate the time frame of something that, yes, is likely inevitable. In the meantime, we can hope that the protected grouper in the marine park will learn to spot this food source and eat it!

Will miss this place. Back to land locked and Lionfish free Colorado!

Mary

 

[alohagal]

BTW: After sighting Lionfish. Saw many octopus, (including precious baby octopus) puffers, crab, eel, shrimp, lobster and the best of all...two squid just hovering in the water giving us the best photo op. It was truly sublime! Great NIGHT SHORE DIVE at Blue Angel. I guess the daily feedings for the poor captured Sting rays next door...is nirvana for other critters in the area.

 

[driftin' by]

Why are we (you guys, actually) even talking about evolution, anyway?

I know! Very silly in this context but amascuba so strongly believed it to be the explanation behind the Lionfish's existence in the Caribbean and as he "sits back and watches" (which implies with in his lifetime) evolution will produce a natural predator that will keep the population at bay.

IMHO, the only evolution involved here is that we've evolved to have a highly developed brain capable of reasoning, introspection, communication and problem solving. We have a problem, now lets solve it.

Will miss this place. Back to land locked and Lionfish free Colorado!

Sorry to hear you're finally calling it quits. I look forward to seeing more of you pictures of you trip.

 

[ggunn]

BTW: After sighting Lionfish. Saw many octopus, (including precious baby octopus) puffers, crab, eel, shrimp, lobster and the best of all...two squid just hovering in the water giving us the best photo op. It was truly sublime! Great NIGHT SHORE DIVE at Blue Angel. I guess the daily feedings for the poor captured Sting rays next door...is nirvana for other critters in the area.

When we were there in May, my wife and I cabbed it up to the dock at Park Royale and got in the water just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. We had a leisurely hour and forty five minute drift back to Blue Angel. It was a great dive; we saw all the critters you mentioned except for the lionfish, and the total cost of the dive was the four bucks for the cab.

 

[alohagal]

Gordon,

My BA dive cost me nada. I could have stayed in that small area for hours and hours! It was that good.

To all future BA guests: Go on a night dive. Cost is free, critters are abundant. Just need to look! I thought my shore Dive at SCC was good as well. But seeing those squid at BA was icing on cake!

 

[scubawife]

Ummmmm.... no... As much as I adore David, that does not describe him! You must be referring to that cover of a romance novel, Javier. Certainly brightens the day to look at him - and be around him. Even straight guys will admit he's great looking!
Major fun in the water, too. Seems to be as moved to watch a turtle soar to the surface as I am. Diving with him convinced me to up my leg work so I can keep up when he streaks away to get a better look at something cool he's spotted. And, yes, consummately friendly.
He has one and a half captures. Wish we'd gotten that one yesterday. Bet he has a better bag today!
So I guess I will ask Javier about Jeremy's lionfish... and ask him for a tip for this testimonial. jijiji

Better go slather on the sunscreen!

Jeremy has been using a mask case to catch his lionfish. (Haven't been there to see it, just saw photos and have heard about it from those present).

The few photos I've seen posted of DMs using plastic bags, I sure hope the bags are really strong. If not, couldn't a spine come right through it and hurt someone?

 

[driftin' by]

To all future BA guests: Go on a night dive. Cost is free, critters are abundant.

You meant to say, night SHORE dive. They're not free if they take you out on a boat. But yes, shore diving is a real treat in Coz IMHO. Lots to see and you go at your leisure which is especially nice if you're a photog.

 

[ocbeachbum]

The fundamental problem is that we have no idea how to "manage" natural resources, and we go off half-cocked before the science is in. The classic example is yellowstone park. First there were "too many" wolves around so there was a bounty on wolf pelts. Then there were "too many" bison, so they hunted them to near extinction. Next there were "too many" elk and deer, so they re-introduced wolves via a breeding program. It continues.

If people had only started diving these areas five years ago, every one of you "no touch" fanatics on here would be howling at the videos of evil DMs molesting the poor lion fish in their natural habitat.

The simple fact is that we do not know how to manage ecosystems. Someone gets it in their head that the configuration they see an ecosystem in today is "balanced" and optimal so it must be maintained until the end of time. Nature changes, and the kind of change is the same regardless of whether it comes from a beaver dam or Hoover Dam.

Similarly, predation changes populations, whether it is by man or by lion fish, there is no such thing as "the balance of nature." Without scientific data backing our decisions, anything we do in the name of conservation or management is just someone's idea of what would be nice.

End rant.