Kill the lionfish?
- Thread starter megatron8121
- Start date
rreveron
New member
Just to give you an idea how bad this is becoming, down in Puerto Rico there were only a couple of reports of Lion Fish in our water around 3 years ago. Today you can find several during a single dive. The sad part is that other reef fish are becoming harder to see now. The Royal Gramma population has been hit very hard.
Local dive shops are taking the stand about killing them if possible and using them for food. Local restaurants will buy them from you since they are actually very good. They will normally pay around $3 dollars for a single dead fish.
This past weekend I had a Lion Fish turnover and it was very good.
Note that the importation of live LF into the island has been prohibited for a couple of years.
Local dive shops are taking the stand about killing them if possible and using them for food. Local restaurants will buy them from you since they are actually very good. They will normally pay around $3 dollars for a single dead fish.
This past weekend I had a Lion Fish turnover and it was very good.
Note that the importation of live LF into the island has been prohibited for a couple of years.
Reeferz412
Coral Hoarder
My cousin has a house in the Keys so I will stay there, but I did not know that... man these suckers are everywhere. I might google how to cook them lol, I hear it isn't too hard.
pledosophy
Active member
Here is a 2011 map:
I saw three in one dive in Cancun in January.
hllywd
Premier World Traveler
Ceviche.... :beachbum:
hllywd
Premier World Traveler
In the Deerfield Beach, FL area it's common to see half a dozen or more on a dive, some larger than any I've seen in aquariums. 3 or 4 years ago I had heard about the problem but never seen one.
Reeferz412
Coral Hoarder
Mine as well making it a fishing trip 
Alexraptor
New member
Seems to me that the caribbean is a good buisness opportunity for the pet trade.
Harvest them in the masses from the caribben and export them to aquarists around the globe!
Populations get reduced, and aquarists get wild caught lionfish without harming the environment.
Harvest them in the masses from the caribben and export them to aquarists around the globe!
Populations get reduced, and aquarists get wild caught lionfish without harming the environment.
Reeferz412
Coral Hoarder
Seems to me that the caribbean is a good buisness opportunity for the pet trade.
Harvest them in the masses from the caribben and export them to aquarists around the globe!
Populations get reduced, and aquarists get wild caught lionfish without harming the environment.
That is a good idea, but you always have those not too smart aquarists who buy one, and maybe it gets too big for their tank annnnnd they release it where? :debi:
Reeferz412
Coral Hoarder
We could be the Michael Vicks of the sea.
Alexraptor
New member
Sad thing is the same thing can be said for most large fish, or even small fish.
Some people just get tired of them and dump them in any waterhole and don't give a damn about what happens.
Some people just get tired of them and dump them in any waterhole and don't give a damn about what happens.
From the current issue of ALERT, official publication of the Divers Alert Network, an article by Stan Waterman, the dean of UW photography (5 Emmys), recognized worldwide as among the most respected oceanographic commentators:
"Whether we like it or not, we are in the midst of what may be the worst biological disaster ever to to face the western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The Lionfish invasion has been highlighted as one of the top 15 emerging threats to global biodiversity..."
You have to see it to believe it. The effect of the Lionfish invasion is nothing less than catastrophic. The Caribbean as we knew it will not be there for our children.
"Whether we like it or not, we are in the midst of what may be the worst biological disaster ever to to face the western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The Lionfish invasion has been highlighted as one of the top 15 emerging threats to global biodiversity..."
You have to see it to believe it. The effect of the Lionfish invasion is nothing less than catastrophic. The Caribbean as we knew it will not be there for our children.
rreveron
New member
I though the snakehead was a fresh water fish? But I agree both are a mess.
reefdude135
New member
Last summer we went to the Keys and hit a theater one evening. They ran a "commercial" about the lionfish issue, and emphasized their edibility. The website that they promoted was http://deathtolionfish.org for more details.
You kinda wonder why they still collect them from the pacific. between collecting and eating them it may not make a dent in the population, but it is something.
one possible solution could be to get a breeding group of the fish most endangered and put them in a protected area(netted off or something) if they spawn, the larvae would be carried off by the currents. i know it would be hard to pull off something like that but it might be the best chance to fix this. we had a dwarf lion fish and it will eat til it pops if you let it if i remember right many aquarists feed them to death.
one possible solution could be to get a breeding group of the fish most endangered and put them in a protected area(netted off or something) if they spawn, the larvae would be carried off by the currents. i know it would be hard to pull off something like that but it might be the best chance to fix this. we had a dwarf lion fish and it will eat til it pops if you let it if i remember right many aquarists feed them to death.
This is a perfect opportunity for legislative regulation of the tropical fish trade to make an impact.
If it were illegal for wholesalers to import them from other countries, the US demand would have to be met by fish taken from US waters. might even result in a few US jobs. Could even expand to exports if the infrastructure is well established. (in the mean time, just kill them)
If it were illegal for wholesalers to import them from other countries, the US demand would have to be met by fish taken from US waters. might even result in a few US jobs. Could even expand to exports if the infrastructure is well established. (in the mean time, just kill them)
Quite sad the damage this fish is doing. We have a better chance of mother nature sorting out this problem then any politician.
Not sure if anyone posted this before, but
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqGhsMhZtF0
not the keys, but similar situation i believe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqGhsMhZtF0
not the keys, but similar situation i believe.
