What happened to the Lionfish?

[handben]

I made a trip down in July with Olympus and then again last weekend for 10 dives total. I didn't see any Lionfish. Did the cold wipe them out last winter? Or have the Lionfish rodeos been that successful?

 

[SelkieDVM]

They are still there. I saw one on the Papoose last month. Maybe the numbers are down?

 

[warscout2]

if we keep up the work we might be able to keep them at bay

 

[Akyla]

Up here in Hatteras, the number of Lionfish on the inshore wrecks sites was certainly less this season than in the recent past. We saw very few if any at all on most of the shallower inshore wrecks.

Not so on the deeper offshore sites. On our last trip to the Tamalipus and the Manuela sites, the Lionfish was in abundance. They appear to be doing and eating very well in the deep. Everywhere you looked there were Lionfish and a lot of big fat ones too.

It may be that the inshore sites did not stay warm enough for them throughout the winter as it seemed that we had much colder inshore waters than normal all last winter. The deep offshore sites are close to the Gulf Stream edge and that probably keeps temps moderate enough for the Lionfish to survive.

If the Sandtigers would develop a taste for Lionfish the problem would be immediately solved. But not being an icthyoligist, what do I really know about it? Not much...

 

[Captain Crocs]

It may be that the inshore sites did not stay warm enough for them throughout the winter as it seemed that we had much colder inshore waters than normal all last winter. The deep offshore sites are close to the Gulf Stream edge and that probably keeps temps moderate enough for the Lionfish to survive.

This is correct. The warm water from the gulf stream keeps the populations offshore when it gets cold, but they are still there. And I agree, we should start training sand tigers

 

[tbone1004]

start training divers... They're delicious...
If you spear any and drive through Raleigh I will gladly take any and all of them

 

[Drewski]

I've seen some of those BIG daddies offshore, too.

Finally, a website devoted to the craft...

Enjoy!

 

[oceancat]

They are still there--I saw 8 smaller ones on the Schurtz (sp?) last month.

 

[GregT943]

start training divers... They're delicious...
If you spear any and drive through Raleigh I will gladly take any and all of them

What does lion fish taste like? Does it have a strong fishy flavor or is it real mild like Cod or haddock? Are they hard to clean? They seem like they would be really boney without a lot of meat on them. Do the spines pose any hazard?

 

[tbone1004]

cross grouper and flounder and it sort of tastes like that. There's a fair amount of meat on them, spines suck, but we just clip them off with scissors and they're fine. Scaling is easy too. bunch of videos and stuff on how to do it