Lionfish in Belize

[cappyjon431]

We saw our first on May 23, 2009. Now we see multiple fish on almost every dive. In less than a year they have spread throughout our waters.

They are good eating, but most of the ones we see are not fully grown (yet). They grow to be 18" and at that size they are big enough to eat. I am trying to get the indigenous fishermen to catch them and sell them to the local restaurants, as grouper and snapper in our local waters are now scarce (because of the fishing practices of the indigenous fishermen). Hopefully this will keep their numbers in check.

Just a few fun facts on lionfish:
They lay 30,000 eggs at a time.
Sexually mature females lay eggs every 55 days.
They are found in water from 1 foot to 300 feet.
They eat anything up to 3/4 of their body size.
They have been documented to eat over 20 other fish in about one hour.

It is an uphill battle.

If you are on Facebook, you might want to check out the FB group "I Spear Lionfish."

 

[bracscued]

I believe they sexually mature within a year old, too.

 

[Hank49]

Is there any use for the venom? Can one extract it and sell it for reseach as a cancer cure or an aphrodesiac?

 

[Ralph Capeling]

We have had a lot of talk on this topic, but without any call to action. Lets look at having some posse action to respond to this infestation. Reading the science indicates we will not be able to irradicate them, but we should at least try to control the numbers. These things will definitely affect our fish populations and reefs. We have seen a number of them off Placencia but without having the right equipment, have not been able to kill any. There have been opinions expressed on Scubaboard about the best equipment to use but I think that equipment has to be safe (no danger to other divers) and effective. Can we form a group to try to deal with these things? Maybe a separate thread on Scubaboard called Lionfish Action Plan or something. Anyone who is interested in taking action on this, please comment or e-mail me at ralph@splashbelize.com

 

[hpbelize]

Ralph getting them in between dives without the guests around is relatively safe and effective. That's the way we do it. There is no text book action plan you have to use what works best for you, your guests and your operation. Kill 'em all.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

What do you use to kill them?

 

[Jax]

As a casual reader of scuba board I came across this post and I have to ask what is wrong with lionfish. I am from California so we don't have any here, but I have seen them in Indonesia, Egypt, Bonaire, and Belize. My wife and I find them kind of cool to look at.

So what are they doing to you guys over there?

Curious

Randy.

P.S. I'll spear anything for a Belikin.

I urge you to read the initial posting in this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...recipes-killing-techniques-chat-part-iii.html

It will tell you everything you might want to know.

 

[cappyjon431]

We are planning a lionfish roundup in April. Local businesses are donating prizes for biggest fish,smallest fish, most fish, etc. All of our local dive shops will be participating as well as lots of individuals. I don't expect this to eradicate the problem, but it will raise public awareness of what these invasive fish are doing to our ecosystem. For details (which will be released shortly), check out the Facebook site of "I spear Lionfish."