New policy on lionfish in the park

[Brules]

Why do all the lion fish erradication devices revolve around shooting them with spear like devices? These fish do not appear to be agile, fast, quick, or even afraid of people ryin gto poke them......and after being shot it looks like most people bag them up to be eaten later.

So why not just use something like this:

You cant miss, you cant really damage the coral, your hands are clear of getting stung, drop it in the catch bag.

Solves all problems mentioned in this thread and is safer to use. It would need a few mods to make it better for grabing a scaly fish, but it really would be better at catching a slow moving fish that doesnt ever look to try to escape it impending doom lol.

 

[cvchief]

Why do all the lion fish erradication devices revolve around shooting them with spear like devices? These fish do not appear to be agile, fast, quick, or even afraid of people ryin gto poke them......and after being shot it looks like most people bag them up to be eaten later.

So why not just use something like this:

You cant miss, you cant really damage the coral, your hands are clear of getting stung, drop it in the catch bag.

Solves all problems mentioned in this thread and is safer to use. It would need a few mods to make it better for grabing a scaly fish, but it really would be better at catching a slow moving fish that doesnt ever look to try to escape it impending doom lol.

And if you can't reach that last Sol on the back of the top shelf, you no longer need a step ladder which is dangerous too....

and it might be safe to give your dive buddy a little "who's your daddy" when they aren't looking..

 

[craracer]

These fish do not appear to be agile, fast, quick

Don't let appearances fool you. These 'slow pokes' make Usain Bolt appear slow. Honestly, I highly doubt that you would be able to use the grabber device. Good thought though!

 

[firstdive2005]

Why do all the lion fish erradication devices revolve around shooting them with spear like devices? These fish do not appear to be agile, fast, quick, or even afraid of people ryin gto poke them......and after being shot it looks like most people bag them up to be eaten later.

So why not just use something like this:

You cant miss, you cant really damage the coral, your hands are clear of getting stung, drop it in the catch bag.

Solves all problems mentioned in this thread and is safer to use. It would need a few mods to make it better for grabing a scaly fish, but it really would be better at catching a slow moving fish that doesnt ever look to try to escape it impending doom lol.

While it is a nice thought that it may be a safer way to catch them and save the reef from damage, there is no such thing as a slow swimming fish. Except bat fish maybe. Even a rock fish can bolt.
Lion fish are very docile in appearance but it stops there. They can dart very quickly.
Maybe if there was a bag in front and you chased it into it and the device closed it that may work but it would then be quite cumbersome and likely interfere with the coral/sponge.
It's nice that people are brainstorming for ways to a solution of how to control this invasion. Good job.

 

[Brules]

How far do they bolt? Of all the videos I have seen - you have to get within 6-12" to spear them with the ELF and Liontamer.....rarely if ever do you see them take off or bolt or move. I think the optimal method would be something like the above, with giant sheers instead of grippers. Pull the trigger and chop it in half, leave it for the reef life to clean up!

 

[Texas Torpedo]

Why do all the lion fish erradication devices revolve around shooting them with spear like devices? These fish do not appear to be agile, fast, quick, or even afraid of people ryin gto poke them......and after being shot it looks like most people bag them up to be eaten later.

So why not just use something like this:

You cant miss, you cant really damage the coral, your hands are clear of getting stung, drop it in the catch bag.

Solves all problems mentioned in this thread and is safer to use. It would need a few mods to make it better for grabing a scaly fish, but it really would be better at catching a slow moving fish that doesnt ever look to try to escape it impending doom lol.

That is incredibly funny! Are you really serious??

PS. Lionfish really aren't that scaly..

 

[Texas Torpedo]

How far do they bolt? Of all the videos I have seen - you have to get within 6-12" to spear them with the ELF and Liontamer.....rarely if ever do you see them take off or bolt or move. I think the optimal method would be something like the above, with giant sheers instead of grippers. Pull the trigger and chop it in half, leave it for the reef life to clean up!

You should do a little more research beyond watching EFF'rs magical lionfish killing videos with the end-all, be-all spear.
Sure, I've had the pleasure of the turkey shoot, where there were 4 lionfish in a cluster which I picked off each in succession without the others bolting, but that is the exception, and not the rule.. It may also have something to do with mating..
I have also seen them shot at (and missed) where they bolt and will swim a great distance to get away..
The ones that have been shot at and missed (OR Molested by divers) have long memories and you know when you come upon them as they don't sit there and make easy targets..

I do agree with you on the point of chopping them up for the marine life to clean up... That's how I hunt them.. Rarely do I bring them back.. Why? So they can be studied? Yeah right.. I nail them, knife them, and feed them to eels, snappers, anemones, etc.. The marine park and science have all they need, IMO.. We gave them almost 2,000 lionfish (if memory serves) during the last lionfish tournament.. Not to mention all the ones we collected during the official huntings with the marine park.. If I can take out twice as many per dive skewering then dicing them rather than wasting my time collecting them, not to mention helping the local marine life associate them with a meal, that's my goal..

 

[Zman96]

How far do they bolt? Of all the videos I have seen - you have to get within 6-12" to spear them with the ELF and Liontamer.....rarely if ever do you see them take off or bolt or move. I think the optimal method would be something like the above, with giant sheers instead of grippers. Pull the trigger and chop it in half, leave it for the reef life to clean up!

They move and move fast. I shot one with and once it got off the spear it took off. Of course the viz is no problem in Coz, so watching where he went was easy and he was fish food about a minute later. The snappers and groupers were really following us waiting for dinner on many dives.

 

[MMM]

One of the very funniest things I saw was a few weeks ago down at Maracaibo Shallows. Jeremy was using aquarium nets to catch them and we found 2 humongous lionfish. He herded one into one net, laid the net and fish down in the sand and gestured to me (hovering about 5 feet above him) "big big lionfish". At which point it took off like a bat out of hell, with the net, under the coral head! After we killed ourselves laughing, he caught and dispatched the other one using his remaining net. I showed him where the second was pouting, stuck, with the net still stuck over its head, up about where I was hovering. That was one miserable looking lionfish because it thought it got away!

 

[firstdive2005]

One of the very funniest things I saw was a few weeks ago down at Maracaibo Shallows. Jeremy was using aquarium nets to catch them and we found 2 humongous lionfish. He herded one into one net, laid the net and fish down in the sand and gestured to me (hovering about 5 feet above him) "big big lionfish". At which point it took off like a bat out of hell, with the net, under the coral head! After we killed ourselves laughing, he caught and dispatched the other one using his remaining net. I showed him where the second was pouting, stuck, with the net still stuck over its head, up about where I was hovering. That was one miserable looking lionfish because it thought it got away!

This is my point about using tools that are not as efficient as the sling and maybe the elf, the nets can hit the coral and sponge easier than the slings or spear type tools. I remember using the mask boxes, nets, bags, the collateral damage was worse than the spear tools.