[Coral-List] overfishing lionfish??

Tue Jan 25 11:22:04 EST 2011

Asian carp have invaded Midwestern lakes and rivers, and some chefs have
been serving them!  http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/114043564.html  I
suspect that lionfish are tastier.

Ed Blume
Madison, WI
Reef enthusiast

On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 1:57 AM, Debrot, Dolfi <dolfi.debrot at wur.nl> wrote:

> Good point Alina,
>
> Only that in terms of basic population dynamic characteristics this fish
> lends itself much less well to overfishing than the big groupers and
> snappers which we indeed wiped out in a few decades.
>
> Efforts to commercialize introduced mongoose and rats as human food in
> various parts of the world (also in the Netherlands and the Caribbean),
> however delicious they may be, have mustered little following and even less
> results.
>
> But, its worth a try....
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Szmant, Alina [mailto:szmanta at uncw.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 12:08 AM
> To: Debrot, Dolfi; 'Melanie McField'; Todd Barber
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: RE: hunting lionfish
>
> If a whole new fishery is developed for it, we should be able to overfish
> it just as we've done with all the other edible reef fishes...
>
> *************************************************************************
> Dr. Alina M. Szmant
> Professor of Marine Biology
> Center for Marine Science and Dept of Biology and Marine Biology University
> of North Carolina Wilmington
> 5600 Marvin Moss Ln
> Wilmington NC 28409 USA
> tel:  910-962-2362  fax: 910-962-2410  cell: 910-200-3913
> http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta
> *******************************************************
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:
> coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Debrot, Dolfi
> Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 8:56 AM
> To: 'Melanie McField'; Todd Barber
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] hunting lionfish
>
> Dear all,
>
> Been following the correspondence and developments on Caribbean lionfish
> for some time now. Keep in mind: the lionfish hasn't even gotten warmed up
> yet! But at the rate they are going now already we could probably sink all
> our manpower, funds and effort into this problem for the next century
> without even creating a dent...!
>
> Don't mean to discourage the hunters (it is a great sport btw!)...but I
> can't more agree with the message that somebody else flopped by the other
> day: "The lionfish is here... get used to it"  :(
>
> Best,
>
> Al Debrot
> Institute for Marine and Ecosystem Studies Wageningen UR P.O.Box 57, 1780AB
> Den Helder The Netherlands dolfi.debrot at wur.nl www.imares.wur.nl
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:
> coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Melanie McField
> Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 10:13 PM
> To: Todd Barber
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] mutton snapper eats lionfish in Roatan
>
> Todd et al,
>
>  I guess I could have given more background. We have been getting many
> reports over the last six months (or more) of lionfish being eaten by
> groupers and morays from many different locations (after being speared and
> with no apparent effect on the fish that ate it). This snapper stayed with
> us for another 15-20mins and appeared fine.  Many of these fish that have
> been eating the lionfish are known residents to the dive guides and they are
> apparently still out on their reef after weeks/months of eating lionfish
> (from reports we have received - and yes it's all anecdotal). But this was
> the first time a mutton snapper is known to eat one. So now we know its
> possible and for a not so large one. So I think his gives some hope.  I
> think that if the local predators can come to think of lionfish as potential
> food, then they can figure out how to eat them live... the lionfish are
> sitting out in the open and are unafraid.  Anyway, the groupers and snappers
> of the Indopacific seem to han
>   dle their consumption - so to me it seems worth testing the feasibility.
> I suppose it is meddling with nature but so was their (accidental)
> introduction in the Caribbean. There just aren't enough human hunters to
> keep populations in check - the fish need to learn to prey upon them too..
> The Cayman teams report that 'training' them to eat speared fish has lead to
> some predation on live lionfish. Maybe someone in
> Cayman can get lucky and video that one!    Anyway, this is all just my
> opinion - I think the jury is still out.
>
> Melanie
> On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 2:46 PM, Todd Barber <reefball at reefball.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Dear Melanie,
> >
> > It is not a good idea to feed local fish speared lionfish.  First and
> > foremost, you have no idea if the fish that eats the lionfish is going
> > to catch a barb internally and end up dieing from the toxic reaction
> > at a later point.  Secondly, teaching any wild animal to follow
> > spearfishermen to obtain a meal is asking for future trouble (both to
> > humans and for the wild fish that becomes dependent on humans for
> > food).
> >
> > A much better practice is to remove the spines (with surgical snips)
> > and carry the lionfish  back out of the water.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Todd R Barber
> > Chairman, Reef Ball Foundation
> > 3305 Edwards Court
> > Greenville, NC 27858
> > 252-353-9094 (Direct)
> > 941-720-7549 (Cell & Goggle Voice)
> > toddbarber Skype
> >
> > www,reefball.org (Reef Ball Foundation) www.artificialreefs.org
> > (Designed Artificial Reefs) www.reefbeach.com (Reefs for Beach
> > Erosion) www.eternalreefs.com (Memorial Reefs) www.reefball.com (Reef
> > Ball Foundation)
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 2:54 PM, Melanie McField
> > <mcfield at healthyreefs.org> wrote:
> > >  Dear Colleagues,
> > >
> > > Last week I had an amazing dive in Roatan during which a nassau
> > > grouper
> > and
> > > mutton snapper closely followed our fearless lionfish hunter - and
> > > the mutton snapper actually ended up eating the lionfish (after it
> > > was
> > speared
> > > and offered).  I think this record will increase the number of
> > > species
> > that
> > > are confirmed to consume it.  The video is on Youtube and our new
> > facebook
> > > site and will soon be on our website (www.healthyreefs.org).  Feel
> > > free
> > to
> > > use the video as needed. The summary information is detailed below
> > > the links.
> > >
> > > See the video at:
> > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3oGVWvt7E0
> > >
> > > We also have it on on facebook and are starting a new suite of
> > > activities
> > on
> > > facebook... so 'friend' us to keep informed about marine
> > > conservation throughout the MAR.
> > >
> > > This is the link
> > >
> > http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=104509826290815&saved#!/vide<http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=104509826290815&saved#%21/vide>
> > o/video.php?v=104509826290815&comments
> > >
> > >
> > > Mutton Snapper recorded eating a lionfish
> > >
> > > January 12, 2011 West End Wall, Roatan, Honduras
> > >
> > > Location:  16.26905 N   86.60288 W    Depth: 80 ft
> > >
> > > In the linked video you can see licensed lionfish hunter and Healthy
> > Reefs
> > > Coordinator in Honduras, Ian Drysdale, feed  a  speared (and dead)
> > lionfish
> > > to a mutton snapper, as an interested nassau grouper looks on.  The
> > > video was taken by Melanie McField, Director of the Healthy Reefs
> Initiate.
> > Still
> > > photos were taken by Marisol Rueda, Healthy Reefs Coordinator in
> Mexico...
> > >  The
> > > incident occurred about 15 minutes into the dive. The Nassau grouper
> >  began
> > > following Ian about 5-10 minutes into the dive and the mutton
> > > snapper
> > joined
> > > along shortly after. Both fish seemed particularly interested in
> > following
> > > Ian and watching the spear keenly.  Spearfishing is banned in HN and
> > > the fish show no fear of the spear or the divers in general.  In
> > > response to
> > the
> > > lionfish problem authorities are allowing managers like the Roatan
> > > Marine Park to license certain trained individuals to use special
> > > lionfish
> > spears
> > > to remove lionfish from the reef inside and outside the Roatan
> > > marine
> > park.
> > >  Both fish were approximately 30-40cm length. Dive guides from
> > > Roatan
> > also
> > > report that the following species have been seen consuming speared
> > lionfish:
> > > groupers (several species), snappers (including mutton and
> > > yellowtail) spotted and green morays, and grey reef sharks.  Some
> > > plan to attempt to train the fish to consume live lionfish, as has
> > > been reported from
> > Cayman.
> > > --
> > > Melanie McField, PhD
> > > Director, Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative, Smithsonian
> > > Institution
> > > 1755 Coney Dr, Belize City, Belize, Central America
> > > tel 501-223-4898   cell 501-610-4899
> > > email: mcfield at healthyreefs.org  www.healthyreefs.org
> > >
> > > Join the International Society for Reef Studies www.fit.edu/isrs/
> >  > _______________________________________________
> > > Coral-List mailing list
> > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Melanie McField, PhD
> Director, Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative, Smithsonian
> Institution
> 1755 Coney Dr, Belize City, Belize, Central America
> tel 501-223-4898   cell 501-610-4899
> email: mcfield at healthyreefs.org  www.healthyreefs.org
>
> Join the International Society for Reef Studies www.fit.edu/isrs/_______________________________________________
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>
>
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