Lionfish/DM's don't care!

[1KWIK_69]

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?

I'll have to agree with you there. Killing them on site might also have another benefit. Other critters might eat the dead ones, develope a taste for them and start hunting the live ones!

 

[geokr]

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?

Maybe not 200 but I think a lot of people would be willing to go a mile or two offshore to hunt them in order to protect the park. Sure, there's probably a lot of them way out in the ocean but the reef is a far better feeding ground than the deep ocean. If I were a lionfish that's where I'd go. So, that's what needs protecting the most. I don't know if anyone has data on deep ocean lionfish densities but a lot is coming in now on reef densities and they're pretty thick there. I would think that's where the natural concentration would be and so it follows that the reef needs to be kept as free of them as possible.

 

[geokr]

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.

That's a great idea - lionfish caviar. I'm going to take that over to the http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/287885-lionfish-recipes.html thread and post it!

 

[ggunn]

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.

Well, maybe yes, maybe no. When you cruise through a reef area, especially a relatively flat one like Punta Tuniche, how much, percentage-wise, of the reef do you see in enough detail to see a lionfish?

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?

Because you can't fish for food in the marine park? Besides, most fishing for food is done by hook and line or by net, and both those techniques are not species-specific.

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?

Nature won't catch up in anything like our lifetimes or multiples thereof. Don't misunderstand me; I am all for removing the lionfish from the reefs at Cozumel, but I am skeptical about how much difference it will make.

 

[alohagal]

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.

Right you are NIGHT SHORE DIVE at BA was awesome. And Lionfish was right there within moments of getting in the water.

 

[kkbiker]

Was in beautiful Cozumel last week for my sixth time and I found a Lionfish on Dalila. My DM captured it and our boat driver put it in his aquarium. A fellow diver at my hotel told me his DM had captured two and killed one on Dalila earlier in the week. I was in the Bahamas last summer and I saw how the Lionfish are taking over. They are beautiful but I support steps to protect the local fish.

 

[jayjoans]

Do the lionfish in aquariums eat all of their tankmates?

I'm all for eradicating as many as we can on the reefs since research and experience shows that they have a negative impact on the reefs, but I wonder how somebody can have other fish in a tank with them if they are such voracious eaters....

 

[MSilvia]

Maybe not 200 but I think a lot of people would be willing to go a mile or two offshore to hunt them in order to protect the park. Sure, there's probably a lot of them way out in the ocean but the reef is a far better feeding ground than the deep ocean. If I were a lionfish that's where I'd go. So, that's what needs protecting the most. I don't know if anyone has data on deep ocean lionfish densities but a lot is coming in now on reef densities and they're pretty thick there. I would think that's where the natural concentration would be and so it follows that the reef needs to be kept as free of them as possible.

Here's a map of coral reefs in the world. If you hunt the lionfish to near extinction on the "red squares" near shore, you're leaving a tremendous amount of offshore reef untouched. Even then, they've moved into a lot of areas where there is no hard coral reef at all... the absense of coral reefs hasn't done much to dissuade them from propagating up the eastern seaboard. They apparently don't much care where you'd go if you were a lionfish. Trying to control the population by hunting them seems like a futile effort to me. Sadly, it seems to me that the lionfish are here to stay. Like it or not, their range now includes the Caribbean and western Atlantic.

 

[geokr]

Here's a map of coral reefs in the world. If you hunt the lionfish to near extinction on the "red squares" near shore, you're leaving a tremendous amount of offshore reef untouched. Even then, they've moved into a lot of areas where there is no hard coral reef at all... the absense of coral reefs hasn't done much to dissuade them from propagating up the eastern seaboard. They apparently don't much care where you'd go if you were a lionfish. Trying to control the population by hunting them seems like a futile effort to me. Sadly, it seems to me that the lionfish are here to stay. Like it or not, their range now includes the Caribbean and western Atlantic.

It remains to be seen whether they're congregating on the reefs or are equally dispersed in the deep oceans. I'm still putting my money on the reefs. You're right in that they can't be controlled everywhere. There's a lot of reefs and a lot of ocean out there. But, since the beginning my premise has been that they can be controlled in the areas that need the most protection - the parks, preserves and, hopefully, other commercially viable areas like the fishing and shrimping grounds where they will do the most damage - if a concerted effort is mounted to do so. That means you have to look at doing things other than giving up and saying that Nature will just have her way. She might "out there" but there's a good chance that the park environment can be protected and I strongly believe it needs to be if for no other reason than to preserve the species there that are going to be reduced, if not eliminated, outside of it.

If sticking a lionfish with a spear bothers you consider it as protecting the nursery that will continue to provide the natural variety of species that may not exist elsewhere. The marine park is more of a treasure now to Cozumel than it has ever been. It MUST be protected.

 

[1KWIK_69]

Who cares if they're dispersed all over the open ocean? Everyone of them that is killed around the reefs means hundreds of other fish that won't be eaten. Seems worth it to me!