Lionfish Culler Bitten by Nurse Shark, Grand Cayman

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Bit of a tangent, but from the article - "“What’s happening is a few bad players are swimming around with spears but without their containment device,” he said. “When they do come across a lionfish, they’re able to take it. But when they do take it, they don’t have a place to put it, so they swim around and try to find something to feed it to. … The problem comes when responsible cullers like Paul are out culling and they put the fish in a bucket. The nurse shark swims up and they want the fish. You don’t have the ability to feed it the lionfish. You’re trying to do the right thing and take them to the surface responsibly.”"

So, Cayman reg.s require lion fish cullers to stick their kill in a container and take it with them. That follow up paragraph I quoted only lays out 2 options, though; stick it in a container, or fin around and find something to directly feed it too. There's a 3rd option I don't see mentioned - kill the lion fish, push it off your spear, and fin off, leaving the dead fish on the bottom for whatever, without directly feeding it to anything.

I take it that would be illegal in the Caymans, too. I mention it because the issue of lion fish culling potentially conditioning predators (mainly reef sharks and moray eels) in a way that theoretically might endanger humans is much broader than the Caymans. I wonder what impact 'kill and leave' has?

And for the lion fish culler, what added risk hauling a container packed with fluid-leaking lion fish leaving a scent trail for predators?

Seasoned professional divers such as dive shop staff who might cull lion fish are one thing, but some recreational divers in some other places spear lion fish, too. Just wondering what the relative risks are for the individual diver.
 
Did a few dives in the Caymans. One of the guides dispatched a couple lionfish. He did not want to attract predators. So he would stick the dead lion fish under some coral or in a crevice. Idea was that food was not become equated with divers but some creature would find it and eat it. Maybe 3-5 years ago.
 
Sharks are opportunists and react to vibrations. ... the lionfish was probably freaking out in the bucket when the guy got bit. I bet he's glad it wasn't a bull back there. Their teeth aren't all that long...

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I am a licensed culler and did the government course. There are many divers who swim around with one or more lionfish on their spear There are several ops that take visitors out on culls as “spotters” but several have their own spears. Nurse sharks may not hunt lionfish but some have learned to follow divers with Spears. Guess why? They are being fed. There are rules that every op should adhere to, spears or buckets in the hands of guests should not be allowed and I simply don’t understand why anyone after being bumped by a shark would carry on with business as usual especially someone who should know better. Many local nurse sharks have been happy with the free handouts for years. Anyone want to guess why sharks sightings in general are commonplace in some areas — not because they like the bubbles but perhaps the snacks. If the shark is identifiable (many are), it will be “relocated” and where it goes will not have it available for a photo op. Just pretty sad overall. I guess the great news is that here in Cayman there should be no impact on visitors as they should not be culling and in other places, responsible cullers will no know that if a marine creature of any kind will eat and therefore recognize lionfish as food, they will try to eat to get to the meal even if they haven’t personally taken it down. Still hunting as a means to a full belly, just not the traditional way.
 
Bit of a tangent, but from the article -....And for the lion fish culler, what added risk hauling a container packed with fluid-leaking lion fish leaving a scent trail for predators?...

Sharks are opportunists and react to vibrations. ...

We hunt and sell lionfish to commercial fish houses. I agree with @The Chairman , If the harvester is a crappy shot and shoots the LF in the fillet, it's going to bring in ANY shark including a nurse. Nothing rings the dinner bell louder than a dozen wounded fish in a bite sized container. @drrich2 I've dragged my open catch bag with bleeding lion fish right over many sleeping nurse sharks and never had one turn after me.

Because we sell commercially, we can't shoot/wound them in the fillet. We must have a single head shot so the fish house can sell a perfect fillet to the restaurants/consumer. I won't eat/pay for a fillet with a hole in it. If the culler can't dispatch a lion with a single head shot, then he needs more training. Lionfish barely move so it's not difficult. But if the culler just wants quantity rather than quality (& safety) then gut shoot them and carry a ringing dinner bell around for 30 minutes which also teaches the shark to follow the dinner bell.
 
Johnoly totally agree with you. When you make it a contest for most caught etc, professionalism goes down the drain and bringing in the remains dead, maimed, edible or not, but just pure numbers for the prize does not bring out anything positive overall. Common sense can go down the drain. Culls should be for well trained, level headed professionals, and not free for all’s. I just keep thinking of a scene from Jaws!
 
I just keep thinking of a scene from Jaws!
With a nurse shark??? :D :D :D Nurse shark teeth are designed to crush more than lacerate.

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Hard to imagine how any animal bite that involves a statement like “it just tore a chunk off. It didn’t do any nerve or muscle damage” from an area behind a human knee could work. Either a really little “chunk” or a knee surrounded by lots of fatty tissue. Certainly not implying that there was not an incident but some parts of this tale seem totally out of whack. Still cannot get over getting bumped by a shark and carrying on business as usual. Incredible.
 

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