Lionfish - what dive shops will let you hunt?

[macado]

No, it is not! So the question which shops will "let" you hunt is really "which DM's will break the park regulations for bigger tips risking the shops permits and licenses - therefore the livelihoods of everyone working for that shop."

Special trips outside the marine park boundaries can be arranged with some shops - but this is not part of the regular schedule nor it it permitted on regular dives.

I knew you would pop in with the official answer So there you have it...It is not allowed. If you want to hunt then best bet is to organize a trip outside the marine park. There are many dive ops that will do this provided they have enough people interested.

 

[Asteve]

Is this part of the national parks systems? If it is there is no harpooning allowed. We ran into this in the Sea of Cortez where parts are National Park. The rules that are on the year park pass that are in English use the word harpooning ( the people that run the park take this to mean no spearing ). In the Sea of Cortez I know of a least one group had the boat confiscated they were in. It took about 4 month and $4000 usd to get it back. I am a little surprise that the DM can spear in the park. But it is mexico anything is possible. All that said, there was one dive boat ride that I did that had a spear go on 2 dives that was not a DM, I do not think he shot anything so do not know why he took it but I was thinking that he was looking for lion fish.

 

[Fistgar]

I definitely won't be asking a dive op to do anything against the rules! I'm grateful that this forum thread has been able to clear up some questions and even provide alternative (and legal) options such as Aldora's trips up to the NW coast outside of the park. Finding a "definitive" answer to anything in Mexico is sometimes very frustrating and time consuming. Very happy I've found Scubaboard!

 

[Zman96]

Don't expect a lot, even outside of the park. I did 4 dives up north earlier this month, 3 of them specifically looking for lionfish, and we shot very few. Just last fall there were more up there, we were very far north with Aldora. You may need to get way north to find good populations. In the park sightings are getting more and more rare at recreational depths, which is a great thing.

 

[BRT]

From listening to the owners and divemasters talk on a boat I believe that you have to be a divemaster and get some sort of a lionfish hunting card to legally hunt in the park. A couple of the people on the boat had the card/license other than those who were closely associated with the dive shop.

 

[ggunn]

Is this part of the national parks systems? If it is there is no harpooning allowed. We ran into this in the Sea of Cortez where parts are National Park. The rules that are on the year park pass that are in English use the word harpooning ( the people that run the park take this to mean no spearing ). In the Sea of Cortez I know of a least one group had the boat confiscated they were in. It took about 4 month and $4000 usd to get it back. I am a little surprise that the DM can spear in the park. But it is mexico anything is possible. All that said, there was one dive boat ride that I did that had a spear go on 2 dives that was not a DM, I do not think he shot anything so do not know why he took it but I was thinking that he was looking for lion fish.

At Cozumel they have made an exception to the "no spearing" rule in the park for lionfish. Only DM's can shoot them legally.

 

[Ron Lee]

I asked do the spear sling with an unnamed dive op. They noted that with my uncoordinated backroll water entries and general flailing underwater, that a sharp projectile was not in my best interests.

 

[mstevens]

I am a little surprise that the DM can spear in the park.

Only lionfish, only with an approved tool (ELF), and only once they've taken a class.

Theoretically it's illegal to spearfish on scuba even outside the park. A sling should not be a problem for taking lionfish outside the park if you can get someone to take you.

 

[MMM]

No, it is not! So the question which shops will "let" you hunt is really "which DM's will break the park regulations for bigger tips risking the shops permits and licenses - therefore the livelihoods of everyone working for that shop."
Food for thought!

Is it exclusively the DMs doing this for better tips or is management in some OP's telling their DMs to allow customers to shoot in the park? Or a bit of both?

 

[gopbroek]

As best as I can tell, the park has the best of both worlds, officially it is forbidden to hunt in the park but they allow park licensed guides to kill Pez Leon. Real world they are not enforcing the 'DM' only rule but they always have it their back pocket, if needed. If the visiting hunters get out of hand or begin causing damage to the reef they can shut it off with great fanfare and punitive damage to the operator associated with them. As to which operators blind eye customers hunting, it is a personnel choice by the operator, like rinsing wetsuits, check with them privately.
As it stands the stocks of Lion Fish in the park have plummeted in the last couple years, a good friend was only able to get 9 kills in a 2 tank dive last week. They are there but avoiding the apex predator, divers. Outside the park they are hunted by very capable fisherman with slings.
Last year I read a quote that the Pez Leon population in Cozumel was 1/3 of the average of other areas of the Carib, I personnely think it less than half that now: I am proud of the couple hundred I killed last year (especially the POS that stung me), I would like to see any recent reef survey data posted to this thread or another SB thread.