Hatul
Contributor
We have no natural predator either. Does that mean we need to be killed off?
Killing lionfish, does it work?
- Thread starter Brian Pasic
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DazedAndConfuzed
Contributor
seeing how many diveshops on certain islands also charter their boat for deep sea fishing, and seeing how many of the DM are posing next to big games caught. It seems that the DM are not killing local fish during dives only because the can't. Lionfish killing programs seems to just allow them to do what some had in their guts. i've met others that doesn't like to kill them, but is the policy of the island, so they grudgingly do it.
Reef_Haven
Contributor
Do you pull weeds in your yard?
Exact same thing.
Exact same thing.
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PatW
Contributor
Killing lionfish does seem to have the effect of reducing the populations on reefs that divers use a fair bit. So that is good. There is one spot where the native fauna is relatively unmolested.
But think about it. Scuba divers do not dive everywhere. They miss wide areas of the ocean and many of these areas probably have lionfish. Also lionfish are believed to have been introduced in FL by people releasing large animals from their aquariums (or possibly in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew). At anyrate, the founding population of lionfish was probably very small. The number may have been fewer than the number of digits you have. So think about it, how likely are divers to reduce lionfish populations below 20? Would zero sound like a good number? So lionfish eradication is a train that has already long left the station.
But think about it. Scuba divers do not dive everywhere. They miss wide areas of the ocean and many of these areas probably have lionfish. Also lionfish are believed to have been introduced in FL by people releasing large animals from their aquariums (or possibly in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew). At anyrate, the founding population of lionfish was probably very small. The number may have been fewer than the number of digits you have. So think about it, how likely are divers to reduce lionfish populations below 20? Would zero sound like a good number? So lionfish eradication is a train that has already long left the station.
Guba
Contributor
In my locale we have a well-established invasive species...the mesquite tree. Farmers and ranchers spend millions of dollars and huge amounts of time and other resources to attempt to "control" them. They use aerial spraying, broadcast chemicals, chaining, and even "grubbing hoes" on individual plants in an attempt to keep them out of their grasslands and crop fields. The best they can do is to limit the encroachment into relatively small swaths of land. There is absolutely no hope of eradicating the mesquite, for it has unbelieveable reproductive potential and is hardy and resistant toward almost all control methods. Are "control" methods having an effect? Sure...on a very limited basis and only for areas where intense efforts are made consistently. If those efforts should falter for even a brief time, we are back to square one.
The same applies to the lionfish. It's absolutely, positively, and completely impossible to eradicate them from the areas they have moved into. The best that can be hoped for is that numbers can be limited in certain areas utilizing intense effort and manpower. A new avenue of study is what conditions enable the lionfish to encroach and dominate certain environments. IF the answer is that other competing species have been "cleared" by factors such as overfishing, then there is hope. By addressing the impact of unlimited take with no protections for those species, then perhaps those competing species can be restored and the effects of the lionfish invasion might be minimized.
It's a hope, anyway.
The same applies to the lionfish. It's absolutely, positively, and completely impossible to eradicate them from the areas they have moved into. The best that can be hoped for is that numbers can be limited in certain areas utilizing intense effort and manpower. A new avenue of study is what conditions enable the lionfish to encroach and dominate certain environments. IF the answer is that other competing species have been "cleared" by factors such as overfishing, then there is hope. By addressing the impact of unlimited take with no protections for those species, then perhaps those competing species can be restored and the effects of the lionfish invasion might be minimized.
It's a hope, anyway.
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