Do you know about the lionfish? Some might call the lionfish a beautiful fish. Some even go so far as to purchase lionfish to keep in their aquarium and show off to their friends and family. And maybe, at one time, that was a reasonable sort of thing to do. But not now, not here in Utila. Here we like our lionfish dead. That’s right… the only good lionfish is a dead lionfish.
Why? Because they are not supposed to be here. The lionfish are an invasive species to to the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean. They were introduced somewhere around the mid 1990’s on the Florida coast, and have been spreading like the plague ever since. Already their population levels are orders of magnitude greater than the levels found in their native habitat. That’s because here they have no natural predators and they breed like submersible rabbits. It’s estimated that at least 27% of the current population would have to be killed monthly just to maintain population levels. If you are trying to reduce their numbers, or better yet eliminate them entirely, you’re going to have to kill a lot of lionfish.
To make matters worse, aside from just being here, they are harming the local reef ecosystems. They have a habit of eating a lot, compromising the survival of native fish species. Over the long term the lionfish’s appetite could lead to an 80% reduction in reef diversity. That’s a lot of fish species that we won’t be able to see anymore. Bad lionfish.
But There is a Silver Lining:
Lionfish are delicious. They fry up really nice, they are good in stew, and make wonderful ceviche. It’s also a lot of fun to hunt them with spears. They are the only marine life you are allowed to hunt while diving, so they do add a whole new dynamic to diving that wouldn’t exist without them. For a lot of people, killing lionfish has become second nature, and it’s almost expected that you bring along a spear when fun diving. You can kill as many as you like, and there is no shortage of them either. Seeing 3 or 4 in a dive is almost routine.
Annually, the dive shops on Utila organize a lionfish derby and cookout to promote the new sport. In 2011, they managed to catch a little over 300 lionfish in a single day. All of them hit the grill and were eaten up by the hungry masses in mere minutes. And let me tell you, everything was delicious.
Lionfish Lunch
If you want to kill lionfish, help the environment, and get free lunch all at the same time, there’s a few things you can do. First, plan for a few days of fun diving. You can’t bring a spear along during any courses, so just plan on making a few extra dives just for fishing. If you don’t already have your advanced certification you might consider getting it. The advanced certification extends your depth limits from 18 metres down to 30 metres. Lionfish love the deeper water, so your odds of seeing some you can reach improves dramatically. Finally, ask about diving on the North Side of Utila. Lionfish numbers are substantially greater on the North Side, and your kill count will benefit from that.
Our first underwater video! A Lionfish Killing Compilation.
Fascinating. I was picturing a giant caveman like spear though. Love the video. Makes me want to scuba dive even more either with or with a spear in hand:)
I find it interesting how diving makes me want to dive more. I’m glad my exploits are rubbing off on you too. Diving is an incredibly addictive activity. You see something different every day.
I think it’s sick. If these lionfish are here now then leave them alone. There are more important things to worry about in this world and instead you are educating people on how to kill an innocent fish that isn’t hurting you? You deserve a spear through your own body… Ridiculous.
I get your point, but I think your going a bit far by saying I deserve a spear through my own body.
In my defence, since I wrote this article, I’ve become vegetarian and no longer eat fish nor any flesh for that mater. Still, I’m not an extremist/terrorist wishing death on anyone else who does eat meat. That’s just not reasonable.
In defence of those people who do eat the lion fish, in my opinion, the most humane way of raising meat for human consumption is to allow the animals to grow up in the wild then hunt them sustainably. For the fish, it’s a much better life than growing up in some fish farm, there’s less disease, more space, and a really good chance that they will die of natural causes. As a bonus, eating this invasive species instead of the traditional over fished varieties of sea life gives the native species a chance at surviving for a few years more. At least around hunted reefs.
exactly. what is dude’s priority over letting all native species die?
really? what is more important that keeping the diversity of the caribbean? it’s ok with you to lose all the species? what are your priorities??
Mike: I don’t know where you got the info that lionfish are “the only marine life (one) is allowed to hunt while diving.” Don’t know where you’re from, but in the Gulf of Mexico, there are only a very few species off limits to spear fishers. All game fish are fair targets during seasons, of course.
Indeed, there are different rules in different places. My information is utila specific.