Lionfish Problem in the Bahamas

I just got back from a trip to New Providence, Bahamas.

It is unbelievable how the lionfish population has exploded throughout the islands.

For those interested here's some info and observations about the problem:

http://www.bluereefphoto.net/p398361322/h212c3591#h212c3591

Any suggestions on how to help would be great and appreciated.

Thanks,

Frank

Bahamas gallery: http://www.bluereefphoto.net/p398361322

A short speargun? After the photo of course...

Speargun will solve that problem immediately

I was there last year and they still had the ban on spearing. I wouldve easly brought down about 40 of them. However then I wouldn't have had my camera in the dives :-/

Speargun will solve that problem immediately

I was there last year and they still had the ban on spearing. I wouldve easly brought down about 40 of them. However then I wouldn't have had my camera in the dives :-/

I actually carried both camera and spear (Hawaiian sling) with me (dragging a kayak) and eliminated a dozen animals.

Spearing helps but won't solve the problem in most areas.

The Bahamian government is trying to create a lionfish fishery but a natural predator would be the best solution.

Natural Predators are a big no-no. You dont want the problem Australia had, they would just be a bigger predator that eats everything else/anything thats easy to eat.

However big Grouper eat them, but they dont really hang where the giant grouper are because they are a bit deep.

they were all over Turks and Caicos and Little Cayman when we were there. We saw a low of 4 per dive to over 20 per dive.

Becomming a real problem

Natural Predators are a big no-no. You dont want the problem Australia had, they would just be a bigger predator that eats everything else/anything thats easy to eat.

However big Grouper eat them, but they dont really hang where the giant grouper are because they are a bit deep.

Cornet fish, certain species of large groupers and morays prey on lionfish in the Pacific.

Gray triggerfish eat lionfish flesh and maybe juvenile lionfish in the Bahamas and Florida

The large grouper is the best candiate for control in the Caribbean and Bahamas. However, the native species are way overfished and do not yet recognize the the lionfish as a prey item.

You're right. Introducing an exotic species, like the cornet fish, that "knows" how to prey on lionfish is risky.

Maybe a grouper from the Pacific is safer because it has competition from native groupers. However, it would likely be fruitless because the shallow waters in the Bahamas are so heavily fished the species would not have chance to develop anyway.

Lionfish meat is tasty and the perhaps a fishery will help to some extent.

The ideal scenario would be if certain predators like large eels, groupers and even sharks evolve a taste for lionfish.

Something has to happen because the situation is getting out of hand threatening many native species.

I have no idea what fishing techniques could be used in a commercial lionfish fishery but my immediate concern would be the effect of the by-catch on other reef species. Longlining and net fishing would not be selective enough which brings us back to spear fishing though that technique is labour intensive, damages the catch and reduces its market value.

Yes, Atlantic / Carribean lionfish are or are likely to become a significant problem not only in their presence but also the effect of their control / removal.

If I were a resident of the area, I would be inclined to encourage locals to carry one of these ( http://www.foldspear.com/ ) and impliment localised, selective and non-commercial control. The foldspear is a discrete tool and would not attract the sort of attention and quite reasonable reaction to a diver seen carrying a speargun.

There seems to be plenty of people interested in sporting events that catch/kill fish.

How about a series of spearfishing tournaments with the winner being the person with most lionfish kills? Only Lionfish would count.

Get it on a fishing channel on cable.

Give the winner of each tourny some nice prize. Have the winners of each in a playoff match series with a big prize.

I know of spearfishing tourney's in the pacific and they kill the napolean wrasse. How about lionfish events in the carib?

I'm tempted to say that we should have all our national governments get into the act of managing the species as that should really reduce their numbers very quickly. But so much for sarcasm.

Maybe a bounty on each Lionfish that is harvested with snorkeling or scuba diving equipment only would be an excellent way to do it. Look what happened to the North American Wolf for instance, or for that matter the North American Bison when bounties were introduced.

This would result in more dive equipment sales, more people exercising, greater awareness of environmental issues, a huge reduction of the Lionfish population, and a chance for some people to augment their annual income if they apply themselves to the situation. Looks like a win, win, win situation for the dive industry, divers in general, and the environment in particular.

With such an abundance of Loinfish flesh available, it shouldn't take long for some enterprising individual to come up with a recipe for the meat. Take chicken wings for example, the actual wing was largely discarded as a byproduct of the chicken rendering process and it wasn't until an enterprising Buffalo, New York individual deep fried them and seasoned them with hot sauce that they became an instant (well almost instant) hit with bar and pub patrons everywhere. I don't see why something like that couldn't be done in this instance. It might also relieve some of the reliance on rapidly depleting commercial fish stocks.

They are more and more common now in Cozumel. Some DMs are picking them up frequently....

There seems to be plenty of people interested in sporting events that catch/kill fish.

How about a series of spearfishing tournaments with the winner being the person with most lionfish kills? Only Lionfish would count.

 

Get it on a fishing channel on cable.

Give the winner of each tourny some nice prize. Have the winners of each in a playoff match series with a big prize.

I know of spearfishing tourney's in the pacific and they kill the napolean wrasse. How about lionfish events in the carib?

They are doing it...

Here's an excerpt from a Bahamian forum article:

Lionfish derby, tasting in Bahamas gets help from Palm Beach event:

Full article: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/ne...hside0503.html

..."Residents of Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas have organized the first Lionfish Derby and Tasting, set for June 5-6, to help fight an invasion by the nuisance, exotic species, reef diver and Shore Protection Board member Bobbie Lindsay said.

The derby will award cash to the divers who collect the most lionfish, the largest fish and the smallest fish.

A lionfish tasting in Palm Beach raised funds for the derby's purse and to equip more Bahamian fishermen with the nets and protective gloves needed to capture lionfish.

The events are organized in cooperation with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation in Key Largo, a conservation group that recruits recreational divers to conduct surveys on the size and diversity of fish populations off the coasts of north and central America, the Caribbean and Hawaii..."

The rest of the article can be found here: http://www.bahamasissues.com/showthread.php?p=431076

A Bahamian freediver started a lionfish blog which has some good, up to date information on the problem and what is being done:

http://lionfishhunter.blogspot.com/

Locals adopting reefs to rid them off lionfish is a great idea.

Recipes exist:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-c...sh-recipes.html

The rest of the article can be found here: http://www.bahamasissues.com/showthread.php?p=431076

Those Lionfish recipes look delicious!

I wonder how you go about cleaning the fish?

I wish we could do something similar with the Round Gobi introduced to the Great Lakes a few years!

Those Lionfish recipes look delicious!

 

I wonder how you go about cleaning the fish?

 

I wish we could do something similar with the Round Gobi introduced to the Great Lakes a few years!

There was also something called the "Bimini Lionfish Smash" that happened about a month ago. Florida FreeDivers and a few others sponsored it.

Lionfish started appearing here in Bermuda a few years ago with the population really picking up in the last 2 years. The collector of species for the Bermuda aquarium noticed significant drops in juvenile fish and traveled to the Bahamas to get a grip on the situation there. He has since convinced the government to implement a culling program, allowing scuba divers to spear them, with a license. Spearfishing is otherwise illegal on scuba.

A local watersports store got involved and gives away free spears to anyone who takes the short course and gets a lionfish license. As most diving here is shallow, i keep mine on the boat and return to spear any i see on a dive, as i carry a dslr rig when diving. But i think one of those folding spears would be perfect to keep on me. Some of the full time divemasters are spearing them regularly too. I have heard they're very tasty but haven't eaten one yet, as most lionfish are sent to the aquarium to have their stomach contents analyzed. I heard if you burn the spines they're ok to handle. will watch the youtube video shortly.

So far the problem isn't nearly as bad as parts of the Caribbean like the Bahamas and we're hopefully getting on top of it before it gets out of hand.

There seems to be plenty of people interested in sporting events that catch/kill fish.

How about a series of spearfishing tournaments with the winner being the person with most lionfish kills? Only Lionfish would count.

 

Get it on a fishing channel on cable.

Give the winner of each tourny some nice prize. Have the winners of each in a playoff match series with a big prize.

I know of spearfishing tourney's in the pacific and they kill the napolean wrasse. How about lionfish events in the carib?

Some people are planning a lionfish tournament this summer, hopefully the first of many. Cheers,

Chris

Figure out how to get them on the same list that Sharks (fins) and Bear (gall bladders) are on. they will be endangered in no time.

they were all over Turks and Caicos and Little Cayman when we were there. We saw a low of 4 per dive to over 20 per dive.

Becomming a real problem

We just returned from eight dive days in Little Cayman. Our boat spotted three or four during this time. The divemasters return and collect any Lionfish they're notified of. I give them credit for removing any that are spotted.