9 replies to this topic

[AnemoneAmy]

I have found an interactive map of reported lionfish sightings. It ain't pretty folks...even Dominica has now sighted a lionfish.
But, I thought folks like Doug and Kamala would like to see it!

If you are really interested in the lionfish problem, then this is a great scientific paper on the topic.

[shadragon]

I like this map. You see the progression over the years.

[scubaski]

Road side resturant in Rincon, Puerto Rico offers this fresh kill special!!

Attached Thumbnails

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[Greg@ihpil]

I like this map. You see the progression over the years.

Simon,
As I scrolled down the yrs. starting at 92..Looks like 2000 was the pivot pt.It really started the upward climb sharply..Nice map

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

There is no doubt that it is an uncontrollable problem in the Caribbean. I have watched the native fish populations disappear just since I started diving in 2006. Until we can teach Caribbean critters that lionfish are OK to eat, and until Marine Parks allow lionfish hunting, the problem will continue to grow exponentially. These critters spawn a million fertilized eggs a year.....do the math!

[Jerrymxz]

Repeat after me:

1: There is no closed season
2: There is no bag limit
3: They taste like chicken
4: They are responsible for Dale Earnhardt’s death

Problem should be fixed in about a week.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

Jerry, you need to add:

5. they're an aphrodisiac

[Parrotman]

from a purely ignorant point of view, it would seem to me that at some point this problem will take care of itself. If the lion fish eat every thing there will be no food supply. The lion fish will die off and the reef systems will re balance. See the native habitat of the lion fish. The reef fish are abundant in the coral triangle and so are the lion fish. In the Philippines you will rarely see a large one because the locals hunt them. In the Caribbean you rarely see a large grouper anymore because the locals hunt them. See the picture? I would venture that if we stopped killing off the large predators, we would not be seeing the scale of invasion that we are seeing. Although we think that we are making an impact by hunting the lion fish when we dive, think about it. On any particular dive how far does a diver actually venture out from the boat mooring? How far between boat moorings? Some dive sites you can swim from one mooring to the next but this is not common. The area of infestation is so large compared to the area that is frequented by divers, we will never get control of this through hunting alone. We need to stop killing off the predators. Let them build up a healthy population again. One can argue that the lion fish have no natural predators in the Carib and the east coast but I would guess that if the lion fish kill off all of the reef fish, the predators are going to eat what ever is available that being the abundant lion fish. Sometimes I think the answer to the problem is for humans to stay out of it and let nature take its course.

[Hipshot]

Regarding the occurrence of lionfish in the Northeast, these are pretty-much young-of-the-year whose larvae were transported to the area by the Gulf Stream. They do not survive the northern winter, and so they never reach the size where they present the problems that the ones from North Carolina and points south do.

Rick