Cool lionfish news ... potential contest and lunch
- Thread starter Roombaguy
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RussL
Registered
I just returned from a week of diving on Grand Cayman and the dive masters carry spearguns and kill any lionfish found during the dives. On our first dive, we spotted 5 or 6 lionfish of which the dive master was able to kill 4. We didn't see any more the rest of the week.
Great idea, we should do something like that in Dominican Republic too.
AggieDiver
Contributor
Just got back from a week on Little Cayman, and the DMs are doing a booming business killing lionfish now that they can spear them. Unfortunately Sharon at LCBR got spiked in the thumb while working on one during one of our dives with her and ended up getting a chunk taken out of her thumb a couple of days later to deal with necrosis. It is great news that so many places are mobilizing to help control the population, but do be careful out there...getting spiked is a serious thing and we all hope Sharon recovers quickly and can get back to diving soon...she has some serious payback to give those fish.
lionfisher
Registered
I just found the press release for the Florida Keys lionfish derbies. Spread the word!!!!
For more information on the derbies and to register online, visit reef.org/lionfish. Dates and locations for the derbies are as follows:
· Sept. 11 Coconuts Restaurant, Key Largo
· Oct. 16 Keys Fisheries Market and Marina, Marathon
· Nov. 13 Hurricane Hole Marina, Key West
Full release as follows:
NOAAs Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), will host an inaugural series of lionfish derbies starting in September. Divers who remove lionfish from sanctuary waters will be eligible for more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.
REEF and Sanctuary managers have been working with the Florida Keys dive community to remove invasive lionfish since early 2009. Scientists are concerned about the rapid population growth of lionfish in Keys waters and their lack of a natural predator in the Atlantic. Lionfish are known to feed on commercially and ecologically important fish species including snapper, grouper and shrimp and can disrupt the balance of the marine ecosystem.
Current research is beginning to show that, if left unchecked, the impacts of lionfish could be devastating to our native marine life and coral reefs, said Lad Akins, REEF director of operations. Providing training and incentives for the public to remove lionfish is one way to control populations and minimize those impacts.
Following detailed briefings on lionfish collecting and handling, divers will be allowed to collect fish on the day of the tournament using hand nets or spearfishing gear in areas of the sanctuary where fishing and spearfishing is allowed. The $100 registration fee for a four-person team of divers or snorkelers provides participants with a pair of puncture resistant gloves and banquet tickets. Event banquets will feature a lionfish tasting for derby participants and guests.
Eating lionfish is a conservation activity, said Sean Morton, acting sanctuary superintendent. We are its only known predator in the Atlantic and through dedicated diver-based removal efforts, and consumption of lionfish as a food source, we can control its establishment.
NOAA has developed an Eat Lionfish campaign that brings together fishing communities, wholesalers, and chefs in an effort to broaden U.S. consumers awareness of this delicious invader.
For more information on the derbies and to register online, visit reef.org/lionfish. Dates and locations for the derbies are as follows:
· Sept. 11 Coconuts Restaurant, Key Largo
· Oct. 16 Keys Fisheries Market and Marina, Marathon
· Nov. 13 Hurricane Hole Marina, Key West
Florida Keys lionfish derbies are sponsored in part by: Ocean Reef Conservation Association, Divers Direct, Spree Expeditions, Inc., Dive Key West, Inc., and Scuba-Do Dive Company.
REEF-coordinated lionfish derbies in the Bahamas have removed almost 2,500 lionfish since 2009. Thousands more fish have been captured in more than 30 REEF-organized lionfish collection trips across the Caribbean.
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects 2,900 square nautical miles of critical marine habitat, including coral reef, hard bottom, sea grass meadows, mangrove communities and sand flats. NOAA and the state of Florida manage the sanctuary.
For more information on the derbies and to register online, visit reef.org/lionfish. Dates and locations for the derbies are as follows:
· Sept. 11 Coconuts Restaurant, Key Largo
· Oct. 16 Keys Fisheries Market and Marina, Marathon
· Nov. 13 Hurricane Hole Marina, Key West
Full release as follows:
NOAAs Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), will host an inaugural series of lionfish derbies starting in September. Divers who remove lionfish from sanctuary waters will be eligible for more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.
REEF and Sanctuary managers have been working with the Florida Keys dive community to remove invasive lionfish since early 2009. Scientists are concerned about the rapid population growth of lionfish in Keys waters and their lack of a natural predator in the Atlantic. Lionfish are known to feed on commercially and ecologically important fish species including snapper, grouper and shrimp and can disrupt the balance of the marine ecosystem.
Current research is beginning to show that, if left unchecked, the impacts of lionfish could be devastating to our native marine life and coral reefs, said Lad Akins, REEF director of operations. Providing training and incentives for the public to remove lionfish is one way to control populations and minimize those impacts.
Following detailed briefings on lionfish collecting and handling, divers will be allowed to collect fish on the day of the tournament using hand nets or spearfishing gear in areas of the sanctuary where fishing and spearfishing is allowed. The $100 registration fee for a four-person team of divers or snorkelers provides participants with a pair of puncture resistant gloves and banquet tickets. Event banquets will feature a lionfish tasting for derby participants and guests.
Eating lionfish is a conservation activity, said Sean Morton, acting sanctuary superintendent. We are its only known predator in the Atlantic and through dedicated diver-based removal efforts, and consumption of lionfish as a food source, we can control its establishment.
NOAA has developed an Eat Lionfish campaign that brings together fishing communities, wholesalers, and chefs in an effort to broaden U.S. consumers awareness of this delicious invader.
For more information on the derbies and to register online, visit reef.org/lionfish. Dates and locations for the derbies are as follows:
· Sept. 11 Coconuts Restaurant, Key Largo
· Oct. 16 Keys Fisheries Market and Marina, Marathon
· Nov. 13 Hurricane Hole Marina, Key West
Florida Keys lionfish derbies are sponsored in part by: Ocean Reef Conservation Association, Divers Direct, Spree Expeditions, Inc., Dive Key West, Inc., and Scuba-Do Dive Company.
REEF-coordinated lionfish derbies in the Bahamas have removed almost 2,500 lionfish since 2009. Thousands more fish have been captured in more than 30 REEF-organized lionfish collection trips across the Caribbean.
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects 2,900 square nautical miles of critical marine habitat, including coral reef, hard bottom, sea grass meadows, mangrove communities and sand flats. NOAA and the state of Florida manage the sanctuary.
Ambassador Divers
Contributor
Calling all Cullers,Divers and Snorkelers
You are invited to join us in helping us reduce the population of the invasive lionfish. It was introduced into the Caribbean by man and is not native to these waters. With no natural Caribbean predators, it is thriving to the detriment of our own reef fish as it feeds on copious numbers of juveniles.
Ambassador Divers Limited and Mezza Restaurant have partnered, under the supervision of the Department of the Environment, to launch the first ever Annual Lionfish Round-Up on Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th September. Come and catch as many lionfish as you can!
Prizes to be given away for teams placing 1st thru 3rd
Registration : Print and complete the attached registration form and submit to Ambassador Diver’s Shop at Comfort Suites Hotel between 7:00 am – 9:00am Saturday 4th September.
Judging and prizes awarded @Mezza Restaurant @ 4.00pm Sunday 5th September
Teams will catch lionfish to win prizes from the following categories:
I – Most lionfish caught
II – Most overall gross weight
III – Biggest fish
Rules
Teams
• Each team MUST have at least 1 certified lionfish culler with proof of certification. For more information on certification, contact the Department of the Environment on : 949-8469
• All lionfish are REQUIRED to be submitted to Meza Saturday at 5pm AND Sunday at 4pm
• Minimum of 2 particpants per team
• Maximum of 8 participants per team
• Please keep all lionfish caught on ice. These fish will be eaten!!
FAILURE TO ADHEARE TO THE ABOVE RULES WILL RESULT IN INSTANT DISQUALIFICATION
Round-Up
• All participants MUST register at the start of the Round-Up. Do not catch any lionfish until you have registered with Ambassador Divers or else you will not be eligible to win any prizes.
• Only a certified lionfish culler should handle the lionfish.
Please call Ambassador Divers on 916-1064 for more information or check the DOE Culling Facebook page.
You are invited to join us in helping us reduce the population of the invasive lionfish. It was introduced into the Caribbean by man and is not native to these waters. With no natural Caribbean predators, it is thriving to the detriment of our own reef fish as it feeds on copious numbers of juveniles.
Ambassador Divers Limited and Mezza Restaurant have partnered, under the supervision of the Department of the Environment, to launch the first ever Annual Lionfish Round-Up on Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th September. Come and catch as many lionfish as you can!
Prizes to be given away for teams placing 1st thru 3rd
Registration : Print and complete the attached registration form and submit to Ambassador Diver’s Shop at Comfort Suites Hotel between 7:00 am – 9:00am Saturday 4th September.
Judging and prizes awarded @Mezza Restaurant @ 4.00pm Sunday 5th September
Teams will catch lionfish to win prizes from the following categories:
I – Most lionfish caught
II – Most overall gross weight
III – Biggest fish
Rules
Teams
• Each team MUST have at least 1 certified lionfish culler with proof of certification. For more information on certification, contact the Department of the Environment on : 949-8469
• All lionfish are REQUIRED to be submitted to Meza Saturday at 5pm AND Sunday at 4pm
• Minimum of 2 particpants per team
• Maximum of 8 participants per team
• Please keep all lionfish caught on ice. These fish will be eaten!!
FAILURE TO ADHEARE TO THE ABOVE RULES WILL RESULT IN INSTANT DISQUALIFICATION
Round-Up
• All participants MUST register at the start of the Round-Up. Do not catch any lionfish until you have registered with Ambassador Divers or else you will not be eligible to win any prizes.
• Only a certified lionfish culler should handle the lionfish.
Please call Ambassador Divers on 916-1064 for more information or check the DOE Culling Facebook page.
Ambassador Divers
Contributor
Ambassador Divers
Contributor
Update:
So far the response has been great.Thanks for all of you who have committed to the round up. The first 50 to sign in at the dive shop Saturday morning will receive a a very cool limited edition NOT ON MY REEF Lion fish t-shirt from our sponsors Mezza and Red Stripe!
See you Saturday!
So far the response has been great.Thanks for all of you who have committed to the round up. The first 50 to sign in at the dive shop Saturday morning will receive a a very cool limited edition NOT ON MY REEF Lion fish t-shirt from our sponsors Mezza and Red Stripe!
See you Saturday!
Ambassador Divers
Contributor
We killed 499 Lion Fish in less than 48 hours!!! Thank you everyone! This was a real community event. We had more than 100 divers participating!! I would have loved to see some other dive ops on board but oh well. Thanks to the Dive Tech Divas and the Sunset House Killers for participating. Great job guys.
Special thanks to the Department of Environment of the Cayman islands for measuring and weighing all those fish , and Mezza Restaurant for cooking them up. Look out for the next round up. It's just around the corner!
Special thanks to the Department of Environment of the Cayman islands for measuring and weighing all those fish , and Mezza Restaurant for cooking them up. Look out for the next round up. It's just around the corner!
Last edited:
Article in the Compass
================
The invasive lionfish has been hitting the headlines often ever since the first one was spotted in Caymans waters back in 2008. From a single specimen in Little Cayman, the fish have spread to all three islands and can now be found on most dive sites.
With no natural predators in the Caribbean and with a voracious appetite for anything small enough to fit into its gaping mouth, the lionfish poses a serious threat to the diversity of Caymans reefs.
The best answer to the problem might well be for humans and marine creatures to start eating away at the problem.
September will see Mezza Restaurant, in conjunction with Ambassador Divers, host a Lionfish Roundup. The event will boast prizes for the most lionfish caught per participating team, for the greatest gross weight of lionfish caught as well as for the biggest lionfish caught.
The unique feature of the event is that the kitchen staff at Mezza will then prepare the bigger lionfish to be served up to guests as the restaurant. Should the event and the lionfish dishes go down well with the diving community and the restaurant patrons respectively, lionfish could well take its place as a regular menu item at Mezza.
What were trying to do is bring more awareness to the fact that our reefs are being overrun by these invasive lionfish, says Jason Washington, owner of Ambassador Divers.
The event will take place from Saturday 4 September to Sunday 5 September, with team of two to eight divers or snorkelers taking part. A team needs to include at least one certified lionfish culler and all participants must follow the Department of Environments rules.
The event is free its really just a way to bring awareness to the community and getting folks involved to remove these pesky fish from our reefs, says Jason.
As for eating lionfish, Jason has taken a number of lionfish to Mezza to be prepared, with his favourite dish thus far being a lionfish cerviche.
Yet humans are not the only ones eating away at the problem. Divers like Patrick Weir of Deep Blue Divers have also been feeding captured lionfish to local species in the hope that they will develop a taste for lionfish.
I started keeping a personal record of how many I have caught, where and when. I thought it would be useful to see the data one day. As of 18 August I have caught 450, says Patrick.
Over the last couple of years, Patrick has noticed a definite increase in the size of the lionfish he has encountered. In the beginning divers were able to catch them in the plastic case a new diving mask comes in, over time the fish have become much bigger and nets are now the weapon of choice.
He started feeding the captured and killed lionfish to other fish and creatures some 18 months ago and has had great success with the venture. The list of creatures that have eaten the dead lionfish is a long one, and includes various types of eels, snappers, groupers, grunts, rays and even lobsters and crabs.
Some fish will follow you around and eat them the second you kill them, says Patrick.
However, when it comes to local species catching and eating live lionfish, Patrick has not seen it happen yet, although he says it is very rare to see sea creatures hunting.
Many creatures like the moray eel love them and waste no time devouring the lionfish within seconds of smelling them. Another favourite is the mutton snapper, incredible to watch these fish come in slow check it out and them rip them to pieces as they eat them; big or small, they get eaten just as quick, he says.
He says he has not tried lionfish yet, but will definitely do so when the opportunity presents itself.
One of the greatest challenges in controlling lionfish is that only a small percentage of Cayman is visited by divers regularly, leaving lionfish around most of the coastline undisturbed.
With natural controls the only answer, it is vital that Caymans reef predators like the grouper and other species be given a chance to hunt the reefs in peace and hopefully start eating away at the problem.
What's Hot Cayman's Local Guide :: Eating away at the Lionfish problem
================
The invasive lionfish has been hitting the headlines often ever since the first one was spotted in Caymans waters back in 2008. From a single specimen in Little Cayman, the fish have spread to all three islands and can now be found on most dive sites.
With no natural predators in the Caribbean and with a voracious appetite for anything small enough to fit into its gaping mouth, the lionfish poses a serious threat to the diversity of Caymans reefs.
The best answer to the problem might well be for humans and marine creatures to start eating away at the problem.
September will see Mezza Restaurant, in conjunction with Ambassador Divers, host a Lionfish Roundup. The event will boast prizes for the most lionfish caught per participating team, for the greatest gross weight of lionfish caught as well as for the biggest lionfish caught.
The unique feature of the event is that the kitchen staff at Mezza will then prepare the bigger lionfish to be served up to guests as the restaurant. Should the event and the lionfish dishes go down well with the diving community and the restaurant patrons respectively, lionfish could well take its place as a regular menu item at Mezza.
What were trying to do is bring more awareness to the fact that our reefs are being overrun by these invasive lionfish, says Jason Washington, owner of Ambassador Divers.
The event will take place from Saturday 4 September to Sunday 5 September, with team of two to eight divers or snorkelers taking part. A team needs to include at least one certified lionfish culler and all participants must follow the Department of Environments rules.
The event is free its really just a way to bring awareness to the community and getting folks involved to remove these pesky fish from our reefs, says Jason.
As for eating lionfish, Jason has taken a number of lionfish to Mezza to be prepared, with his favourite dish thus far being a lionfish cerviche.
Yet humans are not the only ones eating away at the problem. Divers like Patrick Weir of Deep Blue Divers have also been feeding captured lionfish to local species in the hope that they will develop a taste for lionfish.
I started keeping a personal record of how many I have caught, where and when. I thought it would be useful to see the data one day. As of 18 August I have caught 450, says Patrick.
Over the last couple of years, Patrick has noticed a definite increase in the size of the lionfish he has encountered. In the beginning divers were able to catch them in the plastic case a new diving mask comes in, over time the fish have become much bigger and nets are now the weapon of choice.
He started feeding the captured and killed lionfish to other fish and creatures some 18 months ago and has had great success with the venture. The list of creatures that have eaten the dead lionfish is a long one, and includes various types of eels, snappers, groupers, grunts, rays and even lobsters and crabs.
Some fish will follow you around and eat them the second you kill them, says Patrick.
However, when it comes to local species catching and eating live lionfish, Patrick has not seen it happen yet, although he says it is very rare to see sea creatures hunting.
Many creatures like the moray eel love them and waste no time devouring the lionfish within seconds of smelling them. Another favourite is the mutton snapper, incredible to watch these fish come in slow check it out and them rip them to pieces as they eat them; big or small, they get eaten just as quick, he says.
He says he has not tried lionfish yet, but will definitely do so when the opportunity presents itself.
One of the greatest challenges in controlling lionfish is that only a small percentage of Cayman is visited by divers regularly, leaving lionfish around most of the coastline undisturbed.
With natural controls the only answer, it is vital that Caymans reef predators like the grouper and other species be given a chance to hunt the reefs in peace and hopefully start eating away at the problem.
What's Hot Cayman's Local Guide :: Eating away at the Lionfish problem
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