Lionfish in Bonaire

[louisianadiver]

When I was in Bonaire 2 years ago, the lionfish were just a rumor. Now they're all over the place. The Bahamas have been infested with them for a while, and now it looks like there's a new top predator on the reefs throughout the entire Caribbean. Here are a few shots from a few weeks ago. -Clay

 

[rye_a]

Beautiful shots (even of those nasty lionfish)! What is your camera setup?

 

[louisianadiver]

Beautiful shots (even of those nasty lionfish)! What is your camera setup?

Thanks! The camera was a Nikon D300 (Ike housing), strobes were dual Ike 125s. The wide angle of the diver was with a Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye, the rest were with a Nikkor 60mm.

 

[wkb1340]

Nicely done!!! Love the Eel!

 

[mofongo_max]

Nice shots. We did something close to 30 dives in Bonaire last July and didn't see a single lionfish.

 

[louisianadiver]

Thanks for the comments. The lionfish pics came from the Small Wall area, where we dove for most of the week. We saw them day and night. Here are two more shots from the trip:

 

[N2DeepInAz]

Those are fabulous! Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Larry C]

Terrific shots, Clay. Camera and speargun next time?

 

[louisianadiver]

Terrific shots, Clay. Camera and speargun next time?

Thanks, Larry! They'd be simple to get with just a pole spear. Maybe it's time to get the word out to fellow South Louisiana coonasses that they're really good to eat but there's a short season on them.

 

[Larry C]

Let's tell some Norcal poachers that you have to get them freediving, you can only have 3 in your possession and the meat sells for $75 a pound. They'll be filling the trunks of their cars with them.