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Lion Fish Kill


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31 replies to this topic

Poll: Take the Poll (23 member(s) have cast votes)

Approve or Disapprove

  1. Approve of pratice (22 votes [95.65%])

    Percentage of vote: 95.65%

  2. Disapprove of practice (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

  3. Other choice (1 votes [4.35%])

    Percentage of vote: 4.35%

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#1 scubaski

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 10:45 AM

LionFish kill. Do Not View if your put off by culling the Lion Fish population.

Please Vote..............Please Comment.....



I'd like to make this thread educational. Please submit interesting facts and factoids about Lionfish. (Please only submit one (1) fact or factoid per day per member.) :birthday:


LionFish Facts & Factoids:


1. Lionfish become sexually mature in one year and can produce over 2 million eggs per year and they reproduce about every 4 days. :birthday:

2. According to some reports, it can eat as many as 20 smaller fish/shrimp/lobster in a few minutes by using its venomous spines to paralyze its prey and then vacuum/swallow them whole in their large mouth.

3. In studies on small coral reefs in the Bahamas, Hixon and his graduate student Mark Albins determined that a single lionfish per reef reduced young juvenile fish populations by 79 percent in only a five-week period. Many species were affected, including cardinalfish, parrotfish, damselfish and others. One large lionfish was observed consuming 20 small fish in a 30-minute period. Lionfish are carnivores that can eat other fish up to two-thirds their own length.

4. The largest species of lionfish can grow up to 0.4 meters, or 15 inches, in length, although on an average their length is about 0.3 meters, or 1 foot. An adult lionfish can weigh up to 1.2 kg, or 2.6 lbs. And the lifespan of the lionfish in the wild can be around 15 years, on an average

5. There have been at least four lionfish toxins identified: a protein-based toxin (the primary toxin); acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter--slows heart rate); a neuromuscular toxin; and a non-protein toxin. Because the primary toxin is protein-based, application of hot water to the stung area will cause the protein to break down.

6. There are no known parasites, which leaves more energy and time for growth and reproduction. In fact, if a lionfish is infected by a parasite for some reason, they have the ability to shed their own skin to remove the parasite!
MADRE FELIZ DIA MAMÁ

#2 TexasDiver

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 11:10 AM

LionFish kill. Do Not View if your put off by culling the Lion Fish population.

Please Vote..............Please Comment.....

I hear the large ones are tasty! Here is video from SD Cozumel trip; divemaster killing lion fish (skip ahead to 2:00 mark):

#3 WreckWench

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 11:17 AM

Lionfish have no place in this part of the world. They do NOT belong here. They have no natural predators...they are destroying entire fish populations and species in areas...and they are afraid of nothing. They lay THOUSANDS of eggs numerous times a year. They have taken over Caribbean diving and they must be stopped.

Dive professionals are trying to get sharks and groupers to eat the injured lionfish that are killed with small pull spears as shown in this video. There are better videos...including the ones we took in T&C this past week.

The effort is paying off. We witnessed sharks coming for the lionfish and consuming them very quickly after they were shot. THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!!

Now if we can get sharks, turtles and grouper to eat the healthy uninjured version of the fish we'll be on the way to saving our local fish populations.

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#4 Racer184

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 11:24 AM

The state of Florida is promoting lionfish hunting tournaments in the sanctuaries where it is illegal to hunt any other fish.

But the state of Florida still wants me to pay the fishing tax to help the state get rid of this pest. It's like asking me to pay a tax (a license) to pick up litter on the side of the road. I won't pay it, so I will not be helping the state control the population of this invasion.

#5 scubaski

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 03:53 PM

WW can you link the video again.
So it's OPEN SEASON on Lion Fish. I'd be interested in the style of killing apparatus you used in the T & C trip. The DM in my video used a home made mini Hawian Sling with a broad head cutter point, seemed to work very well.
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#6 Parrotman

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 07:25 PM

On the T&C trip we were using a similar spear to the one in the video only a lot bigger. It was a fiberglass pole, about 5 feet long with a metal rod in the end of it that had a sharpened point. Probably a little too big for lion fish as it was fairly easy to put too much power behind the thing. But it was effective. I think we bagged 21 on the T&C trip. I would have modified the pole that we were using with a solid stainless steel tip rather than a hollow tip with a flattened and sharpened tip.
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#7 scubaski

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 08:22 PM

How large in inches was the biggest you eradicated? The ones in my video from Dechsto Island, Rincon, PR was about 5 " long in body lenght. I've seen a +7" at 100' in GCM.
MADRE FELIZ DIA MAMÁ

#8 Parrotman

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Posted 14 September 2010 - 08:46 PM

How large in inches was the biggest you eradicated? The ones in my video from Dechsto Island, Rincon, PR was about 5 " long in body lenght. I've seen a +7" at 100' in GCM.



The largest that I got personally was probably about 10" not including fins. It was pretty big and fat. Most of them were between 5" and 7".
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#9 Hipshot

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 08:17 AM

I agree with WW that lionfish have no place in the Atlantic. I approve of what is being done. As long as poison (which can affect other organisms) isn't used, or no new species to control the lionfish are being introduced, this is a good practice to help restore that environment.

Rick


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#10 drbill

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 08:27 AM

Absolutely approve of this effort... and it is great to see that the dead lionfish are being put to good use to feed both humans and marine critters.

About a dozen years ago, back when I was V.P. of the Catalina Conservancy, I took a lot of flak (and received a dozen death threats) for overseeing the removal of thousands of feral goats and pigs from Catalina Island. They were doing great damage to our native species and habitat. For those of you who don't know, pigs and goats are not even native to the Western hemisphere. They were brought here by early European explorers and settlers.

It is often very difficult to explain to some people why we must kill to save the lives of our native species.

#11 Neptuner

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 10:18 AM

Well said Doc! I agree with this practice completely as well. Once mankind started randomly upsetting the ecological balance of various species around the planet, we inherently earned the responsibility of becoming good stewards for the Earth as well. Sound game management and the controlled harvesting of certain species is the safest and most consistent way to address these kind of issues without further upsetting the balance.

Racer184, you are absolutely right, as strange as it may seem to most people, it is actually the sportsman's dollars that pay the lion's share of the cost (no pun intended here) to properly manage wildlife both in the water and above. A responsible, ethical hunter/fisherman who obeys regulations, properly utilizes their harvest and happily pays a large variety of license fees to pursue his/her sport is probably the best ally many species can have. I realize that it may not be everyone's cup of tea and that is perfectly fine, but we should understand that these things need to be done, plain and simple.

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#12 WreckWench

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 10:35 AM

While its not Racer184's point...and I understand his point that if he is helping the State they should not charge him for the priviledge...but I would PAY to kill lionfish in FL even though its a public service. I just feel that strongly about getting rid of Lionfish before they destroy entire ecosystems of fish species.

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#13 ScubaFred

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 11:43 AM

Here is Larry doing his part to reduce the lionfish population in the Turks & Caicos during the Labor Day 2010 trip with SingleDivers.com.

Video by ScubaFred:



#14 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 12:50 PM

I like the little gizmo invented called the "Lion Tamer", which is basically a small metal stick - a bit bigger than our SD photo stick - with a bungee-type action to allow you to shoot the fish. Sort of a mini spear gun without the pole. Saw it in action by the inventor on YouTube, and works pretty well.
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#15 WreckWench

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Posted 15 September 2010 - 01:34 PM

I'd like to make this thread educational. Please submit interesting facts and factoids about Lionfish. (Please only submit one (1) fact or factoid per day per member.) :thankyou:

I'll get the ball rolling...in my post I alluded to them having astronomical birth rates...so I looked it up and here goes:

Lionfish become sexually mature in one year and can produce over 2 million eggs per year and they reproduce about every 4 days. :blush:



Contact me directly at Kamala@SingleDivers.com for your private or group travel needs or 864-557-6079 AND don't miss SD's 2018-2021 Trips! ....here! Most are once in a lifetime opportunities...don't miss the chance to go!!
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"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
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864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906




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