Thoughts about lionfish

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MB

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On numerous recent dives I've seen between 0 to 0 lions. OK, I actually saw one a couple of months ago, and he was impressive. I've heard several explanations - all spoken with vociferous authority. Some of them might actually be true:

1. All the lions in the shallows have been killed off. (all? wow!)
2. You have to get to 80'+ to see them now.
3. You have to get to 100'+ to see them now.
4. You have to get deeper than 100'...
5. The effort to train lobsters to hunt the lions has paid off.
6. They are out in the Bimini trench until the water cools off.
7. They are out in the Bimini trench until the hunters cool off.
8. The warm water (86 degrees now) has slowed them down and they've gone deeper inside the holes and ledges.
9. The hunters here are lust too talented. (Watch out for Scuba Jenny!)
10. The resources devoted to lion eradication by FL and other coastal states has just been overwhelming and effective.
11. SoFL is so passé! They headed back to Indonesia where they can get a reliable Muslim meal!

Any insights into our lionfish decline? I haven't actually heard a good 12th explanation!
 
I think you need to get out to the deep wrecks... Try anything 220 and deeper from Miami south. The sheer numbers of Lionfish on those wrecks is staggering.

In NC, you can see them on any wreck that's not inshore and not in the Labrador current. Although they aren't as numerous as the south Florida beasts, they are freaking huge. 15-18" is not uncommon. They even turn nearly pure black at that size.

Why are they not on the shallow reefs? Who knows. One things for sure though...just because you don't see them doesn't mean they are gone.
 
MB:
On numerous recent dives I've seen between 0 to 0 lions. OK, I actually saw one a couple of months ago, and he was impressive. I've heard several explanations - all spoken with vociferous authority. Some of them might actually be true:

1. All the lions in the shallows have been killed off. (all? wow!)
2. You have to get to 80'+ to see them now.
3. You have to get to 100'+ to see them now.
4. You have to get deeper than 100'...
5. The effort to train lobsters to hunt the lions has paid off.
6. They are out in the Bimini trench until the water cools off.
7. They are out in the Bimini trench until the hunters cool off.
8. The warm water (86 degrees now) has slowed them down and they've gone deeper inside the holes and ledges.
9. The hunters here are lust too talented. (Watch out for Scuba Jenny!)
10. The resources devoted to lion eradication by FL and other coastal states has just been overwhelming and effective.
11. SoFL is so passé! They headed back to Indonesia where they can get a reliable Muslim meal!

Any insights into our lionfish decline? I haven't actually heard a good 12th explanation!

Not sure, but my guess is that with the number of divers out there packing pole spears and a psychotic hatred for the bastards the heavily-frequented dive sites get picked over pretty often. Last summer I knew I was getting the shaft when the boat I was on for the Martin County lionfish tournament decided to do both dives on Juno Ledge; that site gets hit probably multiple times a day and any lionfish left alive would have to be bunkered down out of sight. I wouldn't say they've been entirely cleaned out of the shallows; I know about a year or two ago some of my coworkers spotted a bunch near the Miami Beach fishing pier and not too long ago there were reports of them in the Boneyard off Venice. I think you'll find plenty if you venture off the beaten path.

That's my best guess, but it is possible the local predators are starting to target them. In the past year out of the Caymans there's been documentation of predatory attacks on uninjured lionfish by Nassau grouper, reef sharks, and moray eels. The grouper and the reefie killed and ate their quarry and the grouper was definitely employing a strategy to get the lionfish up into the water column where it could attack from underneath and avoid the dorsal spines. The moray appeared to be trying the same thing, except the lionfish was successful at warding it off.

Not too long ago a spearo out of Palm Beach County reported a lemon shark tearing into a catch bag full of lionfish; by his account despite pausing to swim off and shake her head she kept returning for more. Maybe they're developing a taste for spicy food :D
 
Many less Lionfish on the frequently dived sites in Boynton Beach also but there are plenty on the outside reef and on the deeper, less frequently dived sites near the inlet. I tend to think its the hunting pressure
 
I think it's a combination of both the divers cleaning up frequently dived sites and sea creatures learning to hunt lionfish.

On two dive trips now (one in Key Largo...one in Roatan) we have observed a grouper and a green moray eel out hunting TOGETHER! I speculated that they were lionfish hunting. Now I'm pretty sure it's adaptive behavior.
 
In Jupiter, I don't see many on the dive sites that dive boats frequent such as Area 51, Loggerhead, Bluffs, Cap't Mikes, etc. However, if the Capt provides a separate drop for lobster divers that is off the beaten path, I tend to see more of them. Especially if I happen to find a small 3 or 4 foot ledge that is near the lobster hunting grounds.

In Key Largo a few weeks ago, I didn't see very many on the typical dive sites, but on Dante's Reef, which is an 85 foot reef near the shallower Alligator reef and not typically dove often by charters, my buddy and I saw a couple of big ones. My dive buddy killed one of them.

I've wondered if the nurse sharks might be hunting them as well. Twice I've seen nurse sharks going under a ledge and really working to get at something. I couldn't tell if the sharks were after a lionfish or some other fish or crab or something else.
 
MB:
10. The resources devoted to lion eradication by FL and other coastal states has just been overwhelming and effective.
...you can see them on any wreck that's not inshore ....
.... the heavily-frequented dive sites get picked over pretty often....
Many less Lionfish on the frequently dived sites .....I tend to think its the hunting pressure
...divers cleaning up frequently dived sites....
...I don't see many on the dive sites that dive boats frequent .....
Add me to all the above divers.......


Charter Boat Dive site = Cleaned out


My secret dive sites = Loaded up and plenty
 

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