Bonaire going down the drain??

[Mossman]

If a local is fishing their waters to feed their family I don't think it's my place to say something. The only reason to even speak up would be out of selfishiness...as in...ohh no, don't fish on the reef....I need to be able to visit again to see the pretty fishes.

4 years ago I was coming up from a dive at Bachelors Beach and there stood a local husband and wife with a hand fishing line in the water. They caught a Flounder and put it in a bucket...obviously for their dinner that night. I was a little put off by the sight, but as a visitor to their island, how out of line would it have been for me to go up to them and remind them of the park rules?

I think locals need to deal with their issues, it's their economy..for me it's just a nice vacation.

If a local is stealing from parked cars to feed their family I don't think it's my place to say something. The only reason to even speak up would be out of selfishiness...as in...ohh no, don't steal from my parked car ... I need my sunglasses in order to to see the pretty ocean.

4 years ago I was coming up from a dive at Bachelors Beach and there stood a local husband and wife with their hands in someone else's pickup truck. They stole a couple T-shirts ...obviously to wear to dinner that night. I was a little put off by the sight, but as a visitor to their island, how out of line would it have been for me to go up to them and remind them of the island's laws?

I think locals need to deal with their issues, it's their economy..for me it's just a nice vacation.

 

[Mike]

Let's define solution - a solution means you have a eco system where lion fish in the Caribbean aren't impacting the rest of the eco system in a negative way. This solution's results resemble the situation in the Indonesian Pacific area where there is a natural equilibrium.

Right now there are only temporary methods to hold back the damage to the reef systems while actual solutions need to be developed, these temporary methods involve continuous manual eradication of lion fish from areas that they can be reached within recreational dive limits. With best resulst being culling a tiny percentage of the total lion fish population from a very tiny bit of real estate.

That's not a solution to the problem, only a temporary method to deal with reducing their impact.

Whether these temporary methods involve, DMs culling them, recreation divers or fisherman they still all are only temporary methods effecting a tiny percentage of the Caribbean underwater acreage and a tiny percentage of the lionfish population.

Whether lion fish are a table fish or not, if you're harvesting them again as I said -

1) Only large table worthy ones- leaving the rest to devastate the reef
2) Only at recreational depths
3) Only a tiny percentage of underwater acreage

All of that is only a temporary method of holding back the damage while a real solution needs to be found.

I never said anything about that it wouldn't hurt to do it, or any little bit helps. I said it's not a solution to the problem, which it isn't.

Whatever the solution is the measurement of the results will be that you see a natural ecological equilibrium of the lion fish, as there is in Indonesia.

The Caribbean ocean area is too vast, and too deep to be effect the lionfish population by only hand culling lion fish in up to 130 feet of water, up to 200 yards off shore around shorelines.

 

[rye_a]

Let's define solution - a solution means you have a eco system where lion fish in the Caribbean aren't impacting the rest of the eco system in a negative way. This solution's results resemble the situation in the Indonesian Pacific area where there is a natural equilibrium.

Maybe we should introduce a new species that eats lionfish

 

[TheWizard]

Solar-Powered Lionfish Eliminator Robots (SPLERs) are the answer.
They work in depths up to 100 meters, daylight hours only...

 

[rye_a]

Solar-Powered Lionfish Eliminator Robots (SPLERs) are the answer.
They works in depths up to 100 meters, daylight hours only...

The sharks with lasers will take care of the deeper ones.

 

[mitridate]

...agreed...as they say 'denial ain't just a river in Egypt! Been to Bonaire a couple of times for a week each time, and while I enjoyed the island, the fish life was very weak, even back then ( my last trip was several years ago ). Between the locals overfishing, the hurricane damage (most recently from Omar), sewage issues (resulting in a disease that pretty much wiped out Bonaire's eel population) the ongoing property theft against divers 'issue' that's a running joke in the rest of the dive world, I don't expect to ever return to Bonaire.

I will say Bonaire isn't the only place with a very pathetic level of fish life, most of the Carribbean is the same way, Bahamas and Roatan are also completely fished out, it's really spooky to see beautiful reefs so devoid of fish in so many places! I just find it insane that places like Bonaire make newly arriving divers do silly things like mandatory bouyancy control checks and pay marine park fees to supposedly 'protect' their reefs, yet at the same time allow massive cruise ship pier development and 'anything goes' local fishing.....complete hypocrisy!

The lionfish invasion will only accelerate the final collapse of what little presently remains of the fish life of Bonaire, then when the fish are gone, the algae will overcome the reef structure and the reef will die, what's left of the reef anyway, as global warming has already rendered essentially extinct corals such as staghorn corals in the Carribbean.

Bravo, nothing to add.
Unfortunately the ignorance of the relevant persons in charge here on Bonaire or elsewhere, who could change this extremely unfortunate situation, will keep on hidingl:depressed:

 

[mitridate]

Let's define solution - a solution means you have a eco system where lion fish in the Caribbean aren't impacting the rest of the eco system in a negative way. This solution's results resemble the situation in the Indonesian Pacific area where there is a natural equilibrium.

Right now there are only temporary methods to hold back the damage to the reef systems while actual solutions need to be developed, these temporary methods involve continuous manual eradication of lion fish from areas that they can be reached within recreational dive limits. With best resulst being culling a tiny percentage of the total lion fish population from a very tiny bit of real estate.

That's not a solution to the problem, only a temporary method to deal with reducing their impact.

Whether these temporary methods involve, DMs culling them, recreation divers or fisherman they still all are only temporary methods effecting a tiny percentage of the Caribbean underwater acreage and a tiny percentage of the lionfish population.

Whether lion fish are a table fish or not, if you're harvesting them again as I said -

1) Only large table worthy ones- leaving the rest to devastate the reef
2) Only at recreational depths
3) Only a tiny percentage of underwater acreage

All of that is only a temporary method of holding back the damage while a real solution needs to be found.

I never said anything about that it wouldn't hurt to do it, or any little bit helps. I said it's not a solution to the problem, which it isn't.

Whatever the solution is the measurement of the results will be that you see a natural ecological equilibrium of the lion fish, as there is in Indonesia.

The Caribbean ocean area is too vast, and too deep to be effect the lionfish population by only hand culling lion fish in up to 130 feet of water, up to 200 yards off shore around shorelines.

Mike,
to make things worth, the really big Lion fishes are around 200 ft and beyond, but this is certainly way too deep for the PADI "trained" divers, we've met on the island.

 

[mitridate]

If a local is stealing from parked cars to feed their family I don't think it's my place to say something. The only reason to even speak up would be out of selfishiness...as in...ohh no, don't steal from my parked car ... I need my sunglasses in order to to see the pretty ocean.

4 years ago I was coming up from a dive at Bachelors Beach and there stood a local husband and wife with their hands in someone else's pickup truck. They stole a couple T-shirts ...obviously to wear to dinner that night. I was a little put off by the sight, but as a visitor to their island, how out of line would it have been for me to go up to them and remind them of the island's laws?

I think locals need to deal with their issues, it's their economy..for me it's just a nice vacation.

Do you honestly saying, stealing from cars is ok for locals????
I just wonder where do you coming from

 

[jepuskar]

Do you honestly saying, stealing from cars is ok for locals????
I just wonder where do you coming from

No, he is trying to make a point about my post....instead of saying he didn't agree with my view..he decided to make an apples to oranges comparison for affect.

Locals fishing from shore vs locals stealing from parked cars.....

 

[Mossman]

No, he is trying to make a point about my post....instead of saying he didn't agree with my view..he decided to make an apples to oranges comparison for affect.

Locals fishing from shore vs locals stealing from parked cars.....

Apples and oranges are both fruits, they're both round and of similar size. Locals stealing from the cars or from the reef, what's the difference?

Personally I wouldn't say anything to either the poacher or the car thief, but it's not about any sense that it's OK to do it because it's their country, rather because I wouldn't want to get my butt kicked.