Lionfish having natural predators now?

[Odys]

On a recent trip to Utila diving with our friends at UDC (Utila Dive Center) we observed some interesting behavioral changes in the Lionfish population. The day before this video, I was returning from a deep trimix dive and we'd shot about 5 Lionfish and had them in the bag. We are fairly certain this same eel came out looking to gain access to our lionfish catch. We shot the bag of lionfish to the surface with a lift bag to prevent this. The very next day this video was shot by a friend. The eel seemed a bit unhappy about the obvious stings it had received but was just fine a bit later. Lionfish vs. Eel - YouTube

 

[bmorescuba]

Not sure about Utila (still on my to-do list) but I can tell you firsthand that the mandatory DMs in Cozumel actively encourage Morays to eat Lionfish. They will spear the Lions and then hand feed them to the Morays. I've even seen them cut the Lions in half if they're too big. Here's a video I shot of this in action:

Spotted Moray & Big Lionfish - YouTube

 

[Hank49]

Nice.
I hunt fish a lot here and I go places where I know there are going to be big snappers and or grouper, mainly black grouper. I do find lionfish in these places but most of them are hiding, either inside a hole or just outside one, ready to dart in. It would appear that they are hiding are making ready to hide from predators.

Odys, one other thing....change that little pop gun sling POS for a real speargun. You'll have better results.

 

[TSandM]

Did the eel actually catch and eat the lionfish?

 

[nimoh]

great video, please feel free to show it to every eel you know

 

[Rhone Man]

It is amazing how fast behavioural adaptation occurs. When I was in Cayman the lionfish have learned to flee oncoming divers. They learned that pretty quick...

 

[Mike]

Did the eel actually catch and eat the lionfish?

It looked like it to me. If it did, that is the first video I've ever seen like that.

 

[Pelagicsal]

A couple of weeks ago in Cozumel, a queen trigger appeared and chased down a small lionfish we'd flushed out from under a sponge. I think the audio on that would be as entertaining as the video; we were all cheering on the trigger as it darted about, caught, and gobbled up the lionfish. Too bad that video doesn't exist, as far as I know...

I'd agree. The eel actively took the lionfish. Bryn hadn't released the sling when the eel came over the coral and took charge.

Glad to see that Roatan is allowing customers to kill lionfish. Can one bring a small sling in checked baggage?

 

[Odys]

Yes, the Eel totally took it. You can see she barely hit the Lionfish. This same Eel came after our bag of Lionfish we'd shot around 160-180' The Eel was like, "look out honey, let me show you how to do this!" lol... UDC (Utila Dive Centre) has a distinctive specialty they teach about Lionfish. I don't think they encourage just anyone to grab a spear and hunt them as a careless move could have painful consequences.

This same vid was shared on FB on a large diver forum and the tears of rage about messing with the aquatic life were priceless... It's amazing how many folks are unaware that Lionfish are an invasive species. Here are some facts:

1. A US page linking a lot of the science and providing some clear explanation of why we are doing what we are doing. - ​

http://www.lionfishhunters.org/index.html

2. A couple of NOAA's pages _ US Government​

http://www.ccfhr.noaa.gov/stressors/lionfish.aspx
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/stories/lionfish/

3. RMPs webpage (Roatan Marine Park)​

http://www.roatanmarinepark.com/research/lionfish-program/

4. Utila Ecology​

http://www.utilaecology.org/eng/projects/index.php?id=8

 

[buton]

I can't load the video from my nexus 7 into the YouTube app, this also happens with my android phone.... it says video not found