theduckguru
Contributor
I know I would not purchase a fishing license solely for the purpose of removing lion fish unless I was being paid a bounty per lion fish removed.
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I'm one of those who has a real problem with this, too. I contacted FWC about this prior to reading this thread and this is the response I received:
"Thanks for your comments and questions. Lionfish are a big problem in Florida, and I dont disagree with anything you said.
This question regarding making a license exception for the harvest of lionfish has been brought to the FWC Commission. The Commission subsequently directed staff to investigate the possibility of creating the exception by rule. In that investigation, fisheries management staff and our Division of Law Enforcement determined that this exception would result in law enforcement issues. Also, staff determined that the vast majority of those who would harvest the lionfish are also harvesting other species so a relatively small number of people would benefit from the exception. For these reasons, FWC ultimately chose not to create a special license exception for the harvest of lionfish.
Good luck and thanks for helping to eliminate the lionfish. "
This is one of those issues that can get very complicated, as states have jurisdiction over waters within a few nautical miles from their boundaries. Ideally, the federal government would step in and declare the lionfish a special case threat and specifically unprotect it. Even better yet, since it is our political policy in America to use the tax code to subsidize activities, how about allowing commercial take and no tax on the profits? I don't want to cry "the sky is falling", but the threat these guys pose to an already stress marine ecosystem is woefully understated. Special cases like these demand bold action, and hopefully it comes before the point of no return...if we're not already past it.
There are no SCUBA police, and since I shoot nothing, ever other than lionfish, there's nothing to stop me for. Probable cause is still required, I presume. It's not like I'm carrying a speargun or anything. I use a small hawaiian sling, and it's stored in a pocket except when I'm actually shooting one of the little bastards.
Just want to chime in and say that realistically the license is only needed if you keep the lion fish you kill. My friends and I dive the reefs down here frequently and have no problems with killing any lion fish we see and just leaving them on the bottom.