I have been shooting Lionfish on a weekly basis for years now, as have many of my diver friends. After harvesting thousands of these fish every week for many years, I have been stung only once, so I am inclined to think that the method we currently use works pretty well. However in the grand scheme of things, it is highly inefficient, and not a "solution" but rather an act of reef maintenance. I think anyone that can innovate this process, and find a better way would be doing our planet a huge service. It is no fun to be stung, and it is painful to see a reef decimated by these fish. Want a good laugh? Here is a video of me being treated for my first sting.
I have seen multiple divers stung, for many different reasons. Planned harvesting with a pole spear and a Zookeeper is not usually how it happens. Most people I see that are stung are the occasional hunter that decided to shoot a Lionfish with their speargun, loop it with their lobster snare, bludgeon it with a pocket knife or any other unorthodox dispatching method you can think of, with little or no thought as to what they are going to do with the fish once captured. Also, bad strategies, like giving the fish a haircut under water. In my case, I became excited and rushed in a large group of Lionfish, failing to fully insert the fish into my Zookeeper, and then jamming my elbow into the funnel of the Zookeeper. Took 3 spines on the funny bone nerve area, and trust me, there is nothing funny about it. It still hurts when touched the wrong way months later. Needless to say, if you are stung, hot water as hot as you can stand it is the cure.
In my experience, it is very rare that a Lionfish sting would create a cause for medical treatment, however, it is always wise to err on the side of caution when dealing with unknown or unfamiliar injuries. For the vast majority of people, a Lionfish sting itself is typically nothing more than painful and annoying. The same could be said about wasp stings. However, people react differently to things, and this and may very well have had a reaction to the venom, or had some other medical issue happening at the same time, that we don't know about. Although Lionfish are not known to introduce anaphylactic shock like a wasp might, there could be other complications that it caused with this individual that we are unaware of. With so few details in the article, I would not want to speculate too much, other than to say it is highly unusual to be taken to the hospital for a Lionfish sting. It was mentioned that his chest was tingling. I think if I came up from a dive with a pronounced tingling chest I would seriously consider seeking medical treatment, Lionfish sting or not.
Harvesting Lionfish is easy, and the tools are simple. A 3-foot pole spear with a trident tip, (your length may vary) a Zookeeper, and a big dose of caution is pretty much what it takes. Shooting Lionfish requires very little skill, as they usually do not move very quickly. I believe the skill is in developing a shooting and bagging technique that results in minimal interaction with the fish, a quick death, and quick containment. Over time you learn how to make the stone shot nearly every time (fish turns white) and the proper angle to spear the fish, so it fits into the Zookeeper easily.
I'm really glad to see many others becoming interested in helping to remove Lionfish from our reefs. There are lots of them, and not so many of us. The more fish we remove, the more baby reef fish have a chance to survive, and studies have proven that reefs which have regularly had Lionfish removed from them have much higher fish counts, than those that did not.
