Why are lionfish so disliked?

Paul B · Mar 3, 2016

I don't hate lionfish or any other fish. They may hate me though as I eat fish almost every day and was brought up in a family that owned a seafood business. I would (and have) eaten lionfish just as I eat any other type of fish. I would also spear them just like I would (and have) speared any other fish. We eat hamburgers and someone had to kill that cow.
Our invasive species are always a problem, why don't we ever get good invasive species like copperband butterflies, purple tangs or Swedish Supermodels?

vertigo01 · Mar 3, 2016

hart24601 said:
Just need to get the american public to develop a taste for lionfish. Once there is $$$$ in any animal we are pretty good with inventing ways to hunt species to extinction - at least locally. Just has to be worth it financially.

Not too sure about that. Louisiana tried to do that with the Nutria. Aside from locals and those with more of a risque palate no one wants to eat the things.
However lionfish are very, very tasty.

FeliciaLynn · Mar 3, 2016

This is another interesting read that was shared by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Facebook page today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/science/invasive-species.html

timkenagy · Mar 4, 2016

Lionfish Lair said:
I do not believe Hurricane Andrew had anything to do with it. #1 They were spotted in those waters before the hurricane and #2 the haplotypes did not support it. We're not saying they weren't released, because they were. The aquarium had 6 prior to the hurricane and had zero after. The DNA of their accidentally released stock did not match the genetic mix that's out there.

That's all I'm trying to say.. I was at the Shedd Aquarium Monday and they had a lionfish tank with a big display about the problem. It went on about how it all started with 3 lions that were released into the ocean by hobbyists.. It's just kinda misleading. I understand the importance of educating people about not releasing to the wild. Just seems like NOAA or whatever government agency tries to pass some legislation every year on something based on ignorance. I'm 100% for the protection of any animal that's truly in danger due to the hobby. It's just rarely the case.

timkenagy · Mar 4, 2016

Lionfish Lair said:
It's a very messy topic and it never seems to be easy to talk about. One thing we have to remember is that this is a website about pet fish. It's not an angler forum, it's not a scuba forum, it's not a spear hunting forum, it's a pet forum. In being responsible pet owners, we should talk about the invasive issue and what we can do to help. But there's no need to be crude, graphic, violent, hateful or disrespectful and we are often met with just that. Remember these are legal fish we have in our tank.

Let's put this in perspective by using the feral cat example again and I'm not trying to pick on anyone, it's just a good example of what we have to answer to and how it sounds to us.

Feral cats are the invasive volitans of Florida. House cats are like the pet lions we have in our tanks. I replaced the fishing references in the quotes below with cats.....

"i hate them so much i would eat one fryed from the carribean. Such an invasive feline"

"O well i still hate them theyre so ugly! i would like to go spear hunting and kill *** many as i can"

Does that even half way sound appropriate for a cat forum? Talking about feral cats, yes. What we can do to help, yes. That above.....no.

Does that make sense?

And thank you for clarifying (the difference in species) and stating the obvious (the crude, graphic part)

Lionfish Lair · Mar 4, 2016

DARN YOU SHEDD!! I would be ticked at you, if you didn't have such a good library!

I agree they've focused too much on the hobbyists like we are thee only potential source. I know we've put lions in the ocean over there. I know of two. We didn't do ALL of this. There's no way. My statement wasn't actually helpful and it didn't tell everything that I believe. I'm not helping by doing that. Truth is, I don't believe we "caused" all of this, but we are contributors to the mess in general. I apologize for being inciting.

How can Shedd be saying 3 lions caused all of this! It's pretty ridiculous.... 3 lions put into the cold Atlantic found each other...... come on Shedd! If I have access to dozens of peer reviewed articles, they certainly do!!! For shame.

I actually don't believe the hobby will be in our future.

cnseekatz · Mar 4, 2016

aaron23 said:
i've been diving out in Puerto rico, mexico and belize. lion fish are extremely invasive invading the reefs and killing all of the small fishes. They are ALL OVER the place. there is no predator for lion fish and they populate to ridiculous proportions.

I'm going to grand cayman in 2 weeks. I'm going to get to HUNT and try lion fish for the first time YUM! I heard its good since its a white fish. you just need to know how to prepare it.

I was in Belize in December, and stayed on an island right on the reef. They spear lionfish on dive and snorkel trips, and serve them at their restaurant. The lionfish tacos were some of the absolute best I've had. Their meat can pass for any white fish out there. They can get pretty large so a single fish can feed a couple of people.

Lionfish Lair · Mar 4, 2016

There will never be a real market for the meat here because of how they have to be caught. I would eat lionfish if I was in Florida, I would not eat it over here on the west coast.

aaron23 · Mar 4, 2016

thats awesome i'm going to go to town on the lion fish! Cant say the same about my gf she hates seafood. I was also in belize and during the dive the DM killed several lion fish and there was a small 4" blacktip reef shark stalking us for a few minutes. And this massive grouper that the DM always feeds with lion fish followed us the entire dive and the fish let us all pet him lol like a dog

Paul B · Mar 4, 2016

I have only seen them speared but virtually all fish that are collected for food are trapped or hooked and suffocate on the deck of a ship. The "lucky" fish that never get caught by a human are always eaten by something larger. No fish in the sea die of old age. At least I don't think so. Also almost 100% of new born fish are eaten right away. It is sad, but true. It sucks to be a fish.

Lionfish Lair · Mar 4, 2016

I don't think anyone is objecting to the killing of the lionfish, or did I miss that?

The reason I wouldn't eat an Atlantic lion on the West Coast is because it would not be fresh any longer. It's the one good thing I can say about fish caught on those large factory boats.... it is frozen quickly and immediately.

hllywd · Mar 4, 2016

tj w said:
Hey guys, just a few questions here. My are lionfish so hated around the world? We were in the Virgin Islands last summer and we saw several people advertising lion fish killing. I've done some research that says they are destroying our reefs and becoming too invasive. Just curious to hear other thoughts on this. Thanks

tjw - Lionfish are not "hated around the world" as you state. Lionfish in their natural habitat, and with responsible aquarists are not an issue at all and pose no threat to their indigenous fisheries.

Interestingly I have first hand experience at the explosive growth of lionfish as an invasive species in Florida. A few years ago (early 1990s) when I was certified as a diver in South Florida nobody mentioned lionfish. Few people even knew there was a threat at the time. Having kept them in aquariums, I knew them well and never saw them in Florida waters. Beginning a few years ago people were talking about them, if you saw one you were encouraged to report the sighting. As of 3 or 4 years ago, it became impossible to go on a dive and not see at least one, if not schools of them under ledges, and in nooks and crannies everywhere along the reef, on wrecks, and even clustered on sandy bottoms nears the reefs. Now its odd not to see them.

Lionfish infestation in the Caribbean is a full blown catastrophe for the local fisheries! There, there is good reason to destroy as many as possible as they have no natural predators and are literally eating machines focused on the local fish populations. I've seen big lions in public aquariums, large and fat from years of living the easy life unpredated. In the wild off Florida I've seen even larger fish looking lean and healthy often in groups of 8 ,10, a dozen or more.

They live in depths from knee deep to at least a thousand or more feet, so in my opinion, there is little that can be done to control their spread and the havoc they cause. You state you've researched the subject and have found "they are destroying our reefs and becoming too invasive". That statement alone should answer the question you posed, although I would argue there is no such thing as "too invasive", if they're invasive, they shouldn't be there at all! In the Atlantic, and Caribbean, the hatred for the species is well deserved.

Uwharrie · Mar 4, 2016

I love to see them in a tank. But on our reefs They are not native to the Atlantic coast and are extremely invasive. They push out native fish by either consuming them or their food. Sadly they are pretty much here to stay.

Lionfish Lair · Mar 4, 2016

OMG! I just read this "out there".

"Why they alarmed about it? If they suddenly developed the ability to walk on land and attack humans, that's the time to **** your pants."

tj w · Mar 4, 2016

Thanks everyone for their opinions and some doing plenty of research. I didn't start this thread to be debated, I started it to see if we had more information about the subject and if the right information was getting portrayed about it. Hopefully more will get involved and learn more and we can have more advancements in the way we are able to reduce the population while also being thoughtful about the species.

tj w · Mar 4, 2016

Quick ? Do they have lionfish in Hawaii? We are going next week and was wondering if I might see some on a dive

FeliciaLynn · Mar 5, 2016

tj w said:
Quick ? Do they have lionfish in Hawaii? We are going next week and was wondering if I might see some on a dive

There is a species of lionfish native to Hawaii, so not invasive. Its the Dendrochirus barberi species (aka green lionfish or Hawaiian lionfish). Its a species of dwarf lionfish, so about a max of 6" in size.

http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/lionfish.shtml

Luis Spinola · Mar 5, 2016

tj w said:
Hey guys, just a few questions here. My are lionfish so hated around the world? We were in the Virgin Islands last summer and we saw several people advertising lion fish killing. I've done some research that says they are destroying our reefs and becoming too invasive. Just curious to hear other thoughts on this. Thanks

It is sad to watch the consequences of the irresponsible acts of humans, but it could have also been an accident, it would be sadder to watch deserted reefs due to several circumstances, one of these are lionfish, I sometimes go diving to Cozumel and there are actions taken to hunt them, there are also restaurants where they cook them as a local dish, it is only one solution, but very necessary...