Lionfish/DM's don't care!

[driftin' by]

What I've read is that the fish don't swin the expanse. It's their eggs that ride the currents to new locations where they can hatch and thrive.

The image of a Lionfish swimming in open water reminded of Marlin and Dory swimming the big blue in Finding Nemo. :rofl2: Indeed, it's the eggs that take a ride on the current but is that really how they got in Coz? With the currents running south to north, wouldn't we be hearing of their proliferation in Roatan and Belize just south of Coz instead of NC and the Bahamas?

Among many other problems, I'm gonna take this opportunity to blame it on the cruise industry, AGAIN! How? Polluted ballast water. When I lived in the great city of Cleveland Ohio, on the beautiful south shore of the lovely Lake Erie, it was occasionally talked about some invasive species that would decimate or create havoc on some native species introduced from ballast water from large ships. I don't recall the details of what was going on in Lake Erie but it's possible the same is happening in Coz. With cruise ships disembarking from cities up and down the eastern coastline of the states and be-bopping from one Caribbean Island to the next it's very plausible that cruise ships scooped up some of these little buggers and deposited them in Coz along with a wild horde of pod-people.

Thoughts? Discuss.

 

[MSilvia]

Maybe marine biologists should be looking for a predator that will eat lionfish eggs.

Sorry... are you suggesting that introducing a non-native predator is a good way to control an invasive species?

Skinner: Ahh, but as it turns out, the lizards were a godsend since they've eaten all the pigeons.
Lisa: Isn't that a little short sighted? What happens when we're up to our ears with lizards?
Skinner: Ah, well we shall simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes.
Lisa: Then what about the snakes?
Skinner: We simply import gorillas who will eat all the snakes.
Lisa: Well what happens when we're up to our ears in gorillas?!?
Skinner: Ah, that's the beauty of the thing: come winter, the gorillas will freeze to death.

Because they are not around in huge numbers and they are so easy to find and kill, I think controlling them is a very real possibility.

Do you suppose the lionfish only inhabit the parts of the ocean where divers go, or do you expect a lot of people will be willing to pitch in for fuel to go hunt them 200 miles offshore?

 

[skeeoos]

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the former." -- Albert Einstein

Sorry, I'm a little bit late to the party, but I had to add one of my favorite quotes in relation to the "natural" introduction of the lionfish to the Atlantic seaboard and the Caribbean Sea, and that's it's OK for them to be there. Unfortunately, stupidity can't be legislated anymore than clueless, shortsighted comments can be kept from this forum.
Invasive species are a problem around the world on land and sea and have been introduced by boat, truck and airplane. And almost all of the problems are caused greed and/or stupidity and result in upsetting nature's balance. To ignore them, essentially because they are already here is to be no better than those that first caused the problem. Just because the lionfish is pretty, and something unusual to look at doesn't justify allowing it to flourish. If that's the case, let's kill all of the ugly stuff, like sea cucumbers or manatees, or the scary stuff, like large sharks or polar bears (which is already happening), or irritating stuff, like mosquitoes (OK, bad example).
Issues like this need to be looked at long term and examined for cause and effect, not just for fleeting gratification.

 

[MSilvia]

It's all academic, anyway; the policy in the Cozumel marine park is what it is and none of us are in a position to affect it.

Whether or not we can effect the policy in Cozumel has little to do with whether or not it will do a lick of good at combatting the problem in the long run. If Juveniles are showing up as far north as Rhode Island, I don't think a few hundred DMs in Coz are going to put an end to it.

 

[CZMDM]

Per where they originated. I have no hard facts, but I know this....many if not all tropical aquarium fish meant for the USA are bred in open ponds in S. Florida, close to where Homestead used to be. When Andrew hit Homestead I know that several hundred (at least) African cichlids were flushed into rivers and tidal creeks. The Everglades are now filled with these predatory fish. I assumed especially with all the hurricane activity since the early 90's that this scenario, as related to the lionfish, might make sense.

The current does move South to North, but anybody who has ever dived extensively in the Bahamas knows that there are immense area's of shallow water that have little or no current. So they move South through the Bahamas through Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and Cayman...now they are not that far away and a North Western moving current could push them here.

Now that is not a fact and I would never claim to be any kind of expert on how a fish population like this might end up here, but I think it a plausable theory.

Ok you can all start laughing.

 

[ggunn]

Whether or not we can effect the policy in Cozumel has little to do with whether or not it will do a lick of good at combatting the problem in the long run. If Juveniles are showing up as far north as Rhode Island, I don't think a few hundred DMs in Coz are going to put an end to it.

I said that, too.

 

[1KWIK_69]

Do you suppose the lionfish only inhabit the parts of the ocean where divers go, or do you expect a lot of people will be willing to pitch in for fuel to go hunt them 200 miles offshore?

No, but they can keep the lionfish population down in the reef areas to help protect them. Nobod expects to be able to get rid of all or even most of them, but if we bag and kill the ones that find their way to the park, it will make a noticable difference. If they become a popular food source for people it will really make a difference. We've been known to fish some species to near extinction, why should lionfish be any different? For all that are taken from the park, more will come along to take their places, but like I said, for every one you kill, you might be saving hundreds of baby reef fish, and maybe nature will find a way to catch up eventually?

 

[K_girl]

Originally Posted by K_girl
Maybe marine biologists should be looking for a predator that will eat lionfish eggs.

Originally Posted by MSilvia
Sorry... are you suggesting that introducing a non-native predator is a good way to control an invasive species?

-------

No I'm saying that NOAA marine biologists should open some underwater restaurants and show the locals just how tasty those lionfish eggs can be. Of course, lionfish eggs will be the only item on the menu, but offer it for free and I'm sure they would get some takers.

 

[MMM]

Originally Posted by K_girl No I'm saying that NOAA marine biologists should open some underwater restaurants and show the locals just how tasty those lionfish eggs can be. Of course, lionfish eggs will be the only item on the menu, but offer it for free and I'm sure they would get some takers.

Am already envisioning them in a sushi restaurant. Bet you could sell to Japanese for $$$/kilo.

 

[geokr]

Nobod expects to be able to get rid of all or even most of them, but if we bag and kill the ones that find their way to the park, it will make a noticable difference.

Why even bother to bag them? It's dangerous for the DMs and they're going to be killed by the park officials anyway. No point in it. That is, unless they're setting up their own aquariums or selling them to restaurants - but they wouldn't do that, would they?