HowardCath
New member
Make some popcorn and get a drink. This link goes to my album of ~325 pictures from my Blackbeard's Cruise for 4 nights to the Bahamas. Right after hurricane Gustov, the seas were quite rough. After following the captain's directions to throw up only over the lee side of the boat, it was a relief to get under the waves where it was peaceful and beautiful. It was quite an adventure. Got in 10 dives in 3 1/2 days!
You may notice some lionfish. They were huge. Saw them on almost every dive. They are a pacific species which apparently started to populate the Caribbean after a hurricane ~ 2004 allowed 7 lionfish from an aquarium to escape into Biscayne Bay. Now they are a plague. The young native fish of other species don't recognize them as a threat and are being decimated. Our captain is doing research with NOAA on the lionfish. Never thought I'd eat an aquarium fish, but they speared and filleted them. Very tasty. The captain dissected out the otolith organ which can be used to determine the age of a fish. These lionfish are growing in 2 years in the Caribbean to the size of a 6 year old Pacific lionfish.
http://picasaweb.google.com/howardcath/2008831903BlackbeardSCruiseWithCaptBruce#

You may notice some lionfish. They were huge. Saw them on almost every dive. They are a pacific species which apparently started to populate the Caribbean after a hurricane ~ 2004 allowed 7 lionfish from an aquarium to escape into Biscayne Bay. Now they are a plague. The young native fish of other species don't recognize them as a threat and are being decimated. Our captain is doing research with NOAA on the lionfish. Never thought I'd eat an aquarium fish, but they speared and filleted them. Very tasty. The captain dissected out the otolith organ which can be used to determine the age of a fish. These lionfish are growing in 2 years in the Caribbean to the size of a 6 year old Pacific lionfish.
http://picasaweb.google.com/howardcath/2008831903BlackbeardSCruiseWithCaptBruce#