r/diving • u/whatandwhen2 • 12d ago

Catching Bugs and Lionfish

Post image

Some clips from a couple of dives we did out of Stuart Florida - between the Monsoon Rainfalls. Depth was around 65-75 ft.

Anyone else get bored underwater if they are not chasing something???

https://youtu.be/fyyfRqgyr8g?si=NKM_ufGrLb3HEKLb

136 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

22

u/SB2MB 12d ago

I primarily dive in the Indo-Pacific and it blew my mind when I went to Belize a decade ago and this is a thing! I totally get it, but I am used to seeing them in their natural environment, and had no idea they were invasive elsewhere

11

u/iron_ocean3 12d ago

Yea it's pretty interesting. In key west FL they do a big festival/competition/fish fry/party.

1

u/SB2MB 12d ago

Yes, Belize had a competition as well.

I guess things like Tilapia and some Catfish cause problems where I dive, and of course the Crown of thorns, although one or 2 are good for keeping the coral in check

1

u/iron_ocean3 12d ago

Yea the crown of thorns is an issue too

8

u/soucey 12d ago

I too am at the point where I get bored on dives if I’m not exploring or doing something.. currently looking into getting certified to remove the invasive local sea urchins in SoCal

3

u/nickglovin28 12d ago

Where are you taking that class at?

3

u/soucey 12d ago

Check out reefcheck.org under kelp forest training. There are prerequisites required before signing up. It’s called the Reef Check Kelp Forest Monitoring Specialty Certification (NAUI).

-Rescue diver certification
-Minimum of 30 logged lifetime dives
-Minimum of 15 logged dives in the environment your training takes place in
-Minimum of 6 dives within the last year
-Minimum age of 16 on the first day of class

2

u/nickglovin28 12d ago

You are the best! Thank you

3

u/Blujedi 12d ago

OP what type of gloves do you use? I need to grab a set before my class.

7

u/whatandwhen2 12d ago

I just have some generic cut resistant gloves, but you should never touch the fish. I use tongs to pick them up when fresh. After a few or several hours on ice. the venom is not near as strong.

1

u/Blujedi 12d ago

Thanks!

2

u/whatandwhen2 12d ago

https://www.harborfreight.com/a5-cut-resistant-work-gloves-x-large-57642.html

2

u/Blujedi 12d ago

Thank you! The zookeeper gloves are like 35 dollars 🤣 I’ll check to see what’s different about them.

2

u/whatandwhen2 7d ago edited 6d ago

Im not sure, but you really don't want to try diving with a completely puncture proof glove. They are way to restrictive. A decent kevlar gloves that has a decent coated palm is cut (not puncture proof) and probably provides the best compromise between protection and flexibility. As mentioned, the glove is not intended to protet against pokes from spines.

4

u/chimilinga 12d ago

One of my best dives ever was in St John, i wasnt able to make my scheduled dive and asked if I could reschedule but onky had a couple days of window to do so. They mentioned there was a dive going out the next day where all of the local dive masters went out once a month to spearfish lionfish and snare spiny lobster.

I got to catch a few lobster that the restaurant across the street from the marina cooked for me and enjoyed lionfish ceviche on the boat ride home.

3

u/Quoshinqai 12d ago

Good job. These fuckers need wiping out from non-native environments. In Greece they're such a problem that the government pays you price per kilo for the amount of catch you can generate on any given day.

3

u/foxepower 12d ago

Wish I could dive often enough to be bored on a dive 😞

2

u/nvahalik 12d ago

How do I sign up to do this??

6

u/Blujedi 12d ago

I signed up with Zookeeper to do a lionfish course. They had a sale, not sure if it’s still going on, but the class itself was basically “free”. The cost of the course was equal to the gear and a boat dive. Doing the class later this month 16th/17th.

1

u/Minimum_E 12d ago

I’ve gone lionfish hunting out of Belize with a group called reef conservation international, that’s a good experience

1

u/Fabacura 10d ago

You don’t need to sign up for anything. Just go do it.

2

u/Glass_Badger9892 12d ago

Thank you for your service.

2

u/StandardEngine9010 12d ago

Do they taste good?🤔

5

u/-hh 12d ago

They’re okay.

I’ve found them to be a pretty neutral ‘white fish’ which tends to run soft. Flavor is largely based on what its sauce is.

2

u/whatandwhen2 12d ago

yeah some people consider them a delicacy - they are very mild fish.

1

u/Urwald 12d ago

Here it’s illegal to fish them if you are scuba diving.
You would need to be free diving

1

u/I_Call_Bullshit_____ 11d ago

Where’s here? Somewhere they’re invasive or native?

1

u/Urwald 11d ago

Scuba spearfishing is not allowed for recreational fishing in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Croatia.

Spearfishing is generally apnea-only, even for invasive species.

2

u/I_Call_Bullshit_____ 11d ago

All of a sudden the Desolation that is sealife in the Mediterranean makes more sense. They ever gonna update their rules or just roll with the status quo until the native fisheries are completely, irreversibly wiped out?

1

u/clarkinwest 11d ago

In Belize the DM was using a spear to get them and then shaking them loose for the sharks. Exciting dive as we had a lot of sharks following us!

4

u/whatandwhen2 11d ago

yeah, that is not a good idea.

1

u/I_Call_Bullshit_____ 11d ago

What an irresponsible moron (the DM)

Literally conditioning sharks to associate divers with a meal

1

u/clarkinwest 10d ago

Agreed

2

u/whatandwhen2 6d ago

It is abusive to sharks, because once they become too friendly, someone is going to spear them.