Lion Fish Kill
#1
Posted 14 September 2010 - 10:45 AM
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.)
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.
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!
#2
Posted 14 September 2010 - 11:10 AM
I hear the large ones are tasty! Here is video from SD Cozumel trip; divemaster killing lion fish (skip ahead to 2:00 mark):LionFish kill. Do Not View if your put off by culling the Lion Fish population.
Please Vote..............Please Comment.....
#3
Posted 14 September 2010 - 11:17 AM
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.
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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Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
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Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906
#4
Posted 14 September 2010 - 11:24 AM
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
Posted 14 September 2010 - 03:53 PM
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.
#6
Posted 14 September 2010 - 07:25 PM
#7
Posted 14 September 2010 - 08:22 PM
#8
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".
#9
Posted 15 September 2010 - 08:17 AM
Rick
'An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field.' -Niels Bohr
#10
Posted 15 September 2010 - 08:27 AM
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
Posted 15 September 2010 - 10:18 AM
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.
TheScubaCowboy
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#12
Posted 15 September 2010 - 10:35 AM
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!!
SD LEGACY/OLD/MANUAL Forms & Documents.... here !
Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
"Imitation is proof that originality is rare." - ScubaHawk
SingleDivers.com...often imitated...never duplicated!
Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906
#13
Posted 15 September 2010 - 11:43 AM
Video by ScubaFred:
#14
Posted 15 September 2010 - 12:50 PM
#15
Posted 15 September 2010 - 01:34 PM
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.
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!!
SD LEGACY/OLD/MANUAL Forms & Documents.... here !
Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
"Imitation is proof that originality is rare." - ScubaHawk
SingleDivers.com...often imitated...never duplicated!
Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906
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