[Fargo007]

They are still here (and growing) because there's just no incentive to get rid of them.

1. Anyone in possession of 50 or more harvested lionfish may be in possession of one Jewfish/Goliath Grouper.

2. Anyone in possession of 25 or more lionfish may be in possession of one Red Snapper, regardless of season, or size.

We should start a movement. This would utterly decimate the lionfish, and year round.

 

[jack2]

i've got to read up on how to target lionfish. this would be a great idea but i don't know how to catch them.
jack

 

[BananaTom]

i've got to read up on how to target lionfish. this would be a great idea but i don't know how to catch them.
jack

Mostly by spearfishing
I have seen few on a hook, but that is rare

 

[Fargo007]

Even if you don't spearfish, if you have a boat, just bring a couple guys who do as PAX and split the fish. A spearo can easily take this many lionfish in an hour. They just stand there, and are supremely easy to kill.

This will get both the angler and spear communities working together for a common goal.

 

[Splittine]

wouldn’t have anymore jewfish if you could kill one to every 50 lionfish.

 

[O-SEA-D]

The fillet of 50 lion fish beat any red snapper meat any day. IMO!

 

[Fargo007]

You'd probably have even more of them, and reds if the lionfish weren't eating all the young of grouper, reds, and everything else.

These things are thick, and there are not enough people motivated to deal with them. It has to be a two way street somehow.

 

[Fargo007]

The fillet of 50 lion fish beat any red snapper meat any day. IMO!

I've never tried it but I hear NOTHING but good things about it.

 

[jack2]

here's a good article i found. very interesting. the only bad part is the toxic fins but i've caught and cleaned scorpion fish before with no problem. just respect those spines and you won't get hurt.

Hook and lion: methods for catching delicious lionfish on rod and reel. - Free Online Library

Free Online Library: Hook and lion: methods for catching delicious lionfish on rod and reel. by "Florida Sportsman"; Sports, sporting goods and toys industry Sport, sporting goods and toys industry Fishes Analysis Methods

www.thefreelibrary.com

jack

 

[Pop Rivet]

I've never tried it but I hear NOTHING but good things about it.

They're most excellent. My wife spears them from time to time.

I'm not sure how catchable they are on hook and line, so adding an incentive to rod and reel fisherman won't help much, and the spearfishermen are already targeting them pretty heavily for their meat, so no advantage there either.

 

[silverking]

Uuh @Fargo007, not sure of your sources, but there are all kinds of efforts to target lionfish across the Gulf and Keys. FWC and dive groups are sponsoring lionfish derbies and there is a growing market for lionfish filets in restaurants and markets.

I don't believe shifting effort from one species or two to another is a viable solution.

 

[BananaTom]

Grouper eats Lionfish

 

[BananaTom]

Teaching Eels to Eat Invasive Lionfish

 

[BananaTom]

Lionfish robot zapper hits the open water

 

[BananaTom]

Teaching Sharks (and Eels) to Attack Invasive Lionfish

 

[TheBeeDeeGee]

There are just too many of them out there and they multiply way too fast to expect SCUBA divers to control them. It's just like wild pigs, there is no way you can hunt them enough to get rid of them.

When we were in puerto rico last I probably shot 100 of the damn things, we ate them until we got tired of it. They do taste great though.

 

[Fargo007]

Uuh @Fargo007, not sure of your sources, but there are all kinds of efforts to target lionfish across the Gulf and Keys. FWC and dive groups are sponsoring lionfish derbies and there is a growing market for lionfish filets in restaurants and markets.

I don't believe shifting effort from one species or two to another is a viable solution.

I'm not saying there are no efforts, I'm saying that they are a joke. Not a serious incentive as they exist now.

My sources are years of diving and spearfishing, and seeing no effect at all on the lionfish population. All the artificial reefs you park over and try to catch reds are dominated by them. See the video I posted. That's what it looks like a lot of the time.

In fact, the population seems to be INCREASING. When it's reds season, I'm worried about shooting reds, not lionfish. If I could shoot a phatt red any time of year as a thank you for removing 25 or 50 lionfish each time, I'd be in the water every weekend.

So would a lot of people I think.

This could be solved, but not on a one way street.

 

[MrFish]

I was just wondering where the "lionfish are taking over the world" threads went. I thought we should've seen all other species decimated by now.

Just killer bees and acid rain under water.

 

[MrFish]

I have no problem catching ARS in state waters, did they miss the lionfish memo?

 

[Fargo007]

Is this MrFish guy some kind of known thread troll here?