To kill or not to kill lionfish in the Caribbean and Florida?

[Russell Bowyer]

I'd like to open a new topic on whether or not lionfish in the Caribbean and Florida should be killed by scuba divers?

For those of you that are not aware, lionfish were introduced into the waters around the Caribbean and Florida by accident. So they are not indigenous to the area. This means that they are breeding and growing in numbers at an alarming rate.

The rate of increase is being limited by divers and enthusiasts killing them. I myself have killed them on my trips to Barbados and Antigua.

However, killing creatures never comes easy to me. I justify it by the fact that they are 'destroying' local fauna in a way that indigenous creatures are not prepared for or have grown or evolved to deal with. Plus the lionfish we killed we sent to local restaurants.

As an aside, if you've not eaten lionfish, they are very tasty indeed! Probably one of the best fish that I've eaten.

The other problem this does cause is with regard to shark interaction. When I was in Antigua last October, one of the dive group speared a lionfish and within a short space of time we were joined by a reef shark. This shark was intent on eating the speared fish, which it did in the end and took it off the end of the spear.

An exhilarating experience to witness as I was right next to where this took place so the shark came within a few feet of us. But is this good or bad for divers? Possibly if you're not too keen on shark interaction not good. Not sure how this interaction would have gone if that shark was a tiger shark! Which I know are in places like Antigua.

Thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

 

[arew+4]

Killing lionfish for food, yummy and good for the planet! Feeding them to sharks maybe not so good, you don't want six foot or larger predators looking for a hand out, as they may decide to settle for a hand.

 

[rhwestfall]

I have no problem with harvesting and using. I do not agree with the feeding and changing behavior (shark feeding), or the attempts to "turn species on to lion fish". One thing that was recently discussed with me however, was the potential damage caused by unskilled hunters or missed shots... Break off a piece of coral with a miss, and what have you accomplished? I am on the fence, but more toward the "useful harvest" side, and would like to do it given the opportunity (and to do it right)...

 

[stretchthepenn]

I do not agree with the feeding and changing behavior (shark feeding), or the attempts to "turn species on to lion fish".

I recently saw a presentation by...um..his name escapes me...and so does the name of the island where he's located...I blame the cold I'm recovering from. But he did a really good talk about teaching sharks to hunt lionfish. The results were good in that the adult lionfish were pretty well cleared off the reef tops and driven into the crevices below, and biodiversity rebounded; the juvenile fish that the lionfish had been devouring reappeared once the predators themselves faced shark predation.

 

[DerekR]

I hate the taste of fish, but this isn't a question of harvesting food. It's about getting rid of a species that is killing local fish. Kill them now! Eat them, if you like. Set their dead and bloated bodies adrift for the gulls to eat, I do not care. Just get rid of them as quickly as possible, and with extreme prejudice!

 

[kelemvor]

Kill them. Take the carcass or leave it. Either way, it's best killed.

Saving the Reef: Lionfish in Florida – National Geographic Blog

 

[gopbroek]

If in doubt, hug one. That should help with any furthur doubts going forward.

 

[scubadada]

I think the taking of Lionfish has helped reduce the numbers in SE Florida, at least within recreational limits. I'm in favor of killing Lionfish, but not in the direct feeding of sharks, Goliath Grouper, morays, etc. I only hunt occasionally and do not bring them back. I do not feed the animals, but leave them on the reef for whatever finds them.

 

[boulderjohn]

About 5 years ago I spent a week in a diving resort on Andros Island in the Bahamas. The meals were all eaten buffet style, and you sat down at tables with other guests. My wife and I ate several meals with two marine biologists who were studying the lionfish there. As far as the total fish population in that area went, lionfish were about it. They had eaten pretty much everything else.

The marine biologists were both clear and emphatic on this issue: kill them! Kill them! Kill them!

 

[Soloist]

Definitely kill them and put them on the menu. Lionfish ceviche! Places like Bonaire should stop restricting divers from eliminating these destructive and prolific fish. I agree with the earlier post about the concern of overzealous hunters damaging the reef.