Lionfish in Cozumel

[geokr]

Nice shot. Stoned right through the mouth. Let's everyone start posting dead ones. Scubaboard can maybe sponsor a contest and the one in Cozumel or Belize who has the most confirmed kills gets a prize.
I'm free diving more than scuba diving now and I use a big gun with a double flopper head. It's going to be a little tricky getting them off that spear...but it's doable. Slide the fish all the way up the shaft, screw off the head and slide it back down and off. But one slip....ouch.
But I agree that it's not advisable for all vacation divers to attempt this. Just the dive master....going along and "pulling crab grass off the lawn" kind of thing. Done every day, by every divemaster should have an effect.

Yeah, I'm not getting a lot of traction on the "let every diver kill 'em" suggestion. You do have to be careful but it's not difficult or dangerous if you use a little common sense. I just don't think that when they start to establish themselves in earnest that it's going work as an extra duty for DMs. Guess the park will have to find out for themselves how to deal with them. Betcha a Corona they eventually do enlist teams of some sort to do it, tho.

 

[deborahdelamar]

So here goes -- the report on tonight's meeting:

Certain background info is pertinent to understanding the Marine Park's instructions to the public:
-- Lionfish in the Atlantic may be solitary or in groups of 2-6 individuals. They are not afraid of divers and are usually calm -- they're only aggressive when protecting their eggs. They stay at the same site for up to seven months. If the fish is not alarmed or chased, it will remain very close to where it was originally spotted.
-- While there are no registered deaths from lionfish stings, the toxins are fast acting and may cause severe reactions.
-- In Cozumel, there has been one capture (known as The Blue Angel Lionfish) and one reported sighting from Playa Corona, east of Tormentos Reef. The Park has not found the Playa Corona lionfish -- if, indeed, the ID was correct. There are quite a few instances of mistaken identity here and the Park is very worried about the removal of species other than the lionfish.
-- There are no sightings from anywhere else in the state of Quintana Roo.

The last point led the Park's biologists to ask, "Where did these come from?" The ocean currents around here are very complex so the answer isn't obvious. Since determining the direction of invasion is vital to the control of non-native species, it's very important for the Park to receive undamaged lionfish for biological research. Therefore, the use of spears, knives and slings is prohibited. The fish may be caught in plastic bags or butterfly-type nets.

For tourist safety, only people who are registered to work in Marine Park are allowed -- at their option -- either to capture the fish or radio the Park to make the capture. The Park doesn't want visiting divers to be accidentally stung, which could lead to a drowning or embolism on ascent if the reaction is severe. Tourists are not allowed to capture lionfish in Cozumel.

The ban on gloves continues so that people won't be encouraged to capture by hand.

To reiterate, tourists cannot kill anything in or remove anything from the Marine Park. If you see a lionfish, report it to your DM.

The Park has authorized funds to bring REEF's lionfish expert Lad Akins to Cozumel as soon as he is available.

 

[geokr]

Great report. Lad is the right person to advise you on how to deal with this. I wouldn't waste time getting him there. Got a feeling that a REEF expedition to survey Cozumel will soon follow. Now is the time to figure out how you're going to deal with this and tonight was a step in the right direction. Best of luck to you.

 

[budaman]

Any new info on this subject?

Mike

 

[deborahdelamar]

Ops have incorporated lionfish sighting instructions into pre-dive briefings (Hopefully!) No other captures as far as I know -- been asking weekly. One newspaper reported a capture in early Feb. at Scuba Club & it was picked up & sent around on the internet -- more confusion -- the paper was covering the Feb. 5 Marine Park meeting & the Blue Angel capture in January.

 

[1KWIK_69]

So, it doesn't appear to be a nuisance for THAT species. In fact, the activities of man could be seen as a rather fortuitous event, enabling it to migrate to new areas, out compete other species, and increase the spread of its own genes - which is the fundamental activity of all living things.

See, and that, I would argue, is not natural. Besides which - if humans had thought about that before decimating the local grouper population, maybe the lionfish wouldn't be such an issue.

Are you talking about lionfish, or humans?

I agree that man is part of nature, so man erradicating lionfish in the carabean and myan riviera would also be a natural act by your argument. Case closed.

 

[weaponeer]

I just returned from 6 days of diving. Dove most of the reefs from Punta Sur up to Paradise, just south of the cruise ship pier, and I didn't see a single lionfish. Our dive op never mentioned a thing about lionfish sitings. When I asked if he had seen any yet, he said no, but was aware of the single capture made earlier this month.

 

[Rye22]

yeah, bound to happen...... sightings this month in Belize and Caymans...:depressed:

Just got back from Grand Cayman and there was a group that got out of the water at Turtle Reef (where the Cracked Conch is) just before us saw a Lion Fish

 

[geokr]

Not trying to beat a dead horse here - we've already had 14 pages of discussion on this issue, some of it way, way out there. But I've come across this paper that I'd like to share with you that pretty accurately describes the nature of the problem and the efforts underway to both study and control it. There's also a reference to a video on how Bermuda is dealing with the problem that's well worth watching. Hope you find it useful and informative.

 

[jayjoans]

man, I want college credit for reading that.