Lionfish SMASH!

On October 29th, 2011 the South Florida Freedivers are hosting the first Biscayne Bay Lionfish Smash at Rickenbacker Marina on Virginia Key with proceeds going to the University of Miami's Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. This event has the goal of bringing awareness to the Lionfish invasion in Biscayne Bay and educating the public on how to harvest and handle these venomous but tasty invaders.

The Lionfish is an invasive and venomous species that hails from the Indo-Pacific Region, threatening the biological diversity of the western Atlantic. The South Florida Freedivers hope to work in conjunction with other local and national organizations to help slow lionfish invasion and educate people on how to safely kill and handle these fish.

The format is as follows: Divers will compete as two person teams, with more than 1 team allowed per boat. Entry fee is $60 per team. Teams must be signed up no later than the Captain's meeting which will take place on October 27th at the Rickenbacker Fish Company. A representative from each team must sign in at this location between 7-9 am the day of the tournament. Once signed in the team can fish wherever they like in U.S. waters but must have their cooler or bucket at the dock no later than 4pm.

PRIZES:
Largest Lionfish taken $500
Smallest Lionfish taken $200
Most Lionfish by a team - A case of fine Rum


The South Florida Freedivers is a grassroots organization focused on bringing together free divers, scuba divers, fishermen, boaters, and all who utilize the ocean as their playground. Meetings are held every 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM at Scotty's Landing in Coconut Grove - Miami, Florida. The purpose of these meetings is to put together a group of likeminded individuals who respect and honor the best of the sport; local fishing regulations and practices, selectivity and conservation, and above all diver safety.


For more information:

Manuel Menendez, President, South Florida Freedivers Club
(305) 898-2124
[email protected]


Mike Schmidt, Founder, South Florida Freedivers Club
(305) 491-7244
[email protected]


www.southfloridafreedivers.com

 

I get the issue and I support it, but do we always need to be talking about killing my favorite fish on a PET fish forum. Maybe I should hussle on over to the cat forum and tell them there's more than one way to skin them.....

Everytime I turn around on this forum, there's another "kill the lion" thread.

Again I get it and I support it, but killing fish is more for angler sites and diving sites. IMO, awareness and promotion of how to NOT introduce these guys to the ocean is our deal.... constantly talking about frying them up and smashing them down, is really not appropriate for a husbandry site and it gets old for those of us that are building tanks just for them.

 

Incognito +1

 

Ditto!!

 

The purpose of starting a thread is to help spread the word about this event and thus to help gather bodies to quell their invasion.

The fact that people on this board house them and adore them is unrelated to the fact that they need to be controlled in the wild. If they are truly you're favorite fish, you should be ecstatic that this thread exists because if this problem isn't curtailed a complete ban of this fish as an option in captivity is a potential reality.

Bumping the Lionfish SMASH thread to help the cause!

 

I have to disagree to a certain degree, Incognito. Information is information no matter who has to swallow the perverbial pill. These fish have been introduced into areas they should never have been (not their fault, of course). One can't let their own feelings outweigh the reality of the situation that something must be done. While I do agree that this is not the IDEAL forum, everyone should be aware of situations no matter how dire or grim. Awareness and action are critical to save native species which are, no doubt, being thinned out due to a pinnacle predator's introduction. No one has really brought that side of the argument yet...maybe it goes without say. Either way, I feel everyone needs to be aware both of the situation and events/measures to correct a wrong. Unfortunately, some people that love these fish (myself included...it was my first SW fish!) have a bigger pill to swallow than others. Regardless, it must be done.

Harsh? Yes.
Protraying the killing of these fish as an "enjoyment" a little twisted? I can see that.
Are these types of things neccesary? Sure.

OP, I would recommend that if you're going to invite a fish loving group to a "conservation fish wrangling" event, I would practice a little more tact. This is akin to inviting a snake loving person (I'm one) to the annual rattle snake round up. A difficult analogy since the reasons aren't the same but you get my drift. I am, however, on board with the cause and hope the event is a success.

 

I'm a diver, I'm in the area and, now, will probably go to this event. I would have never known about it if this thread hadn't been posted. That's the point of posting it here. Diving and reef tanks are both hobbies that often go together. But while I can spend hours on this forum talking about the aquarium hobby. I don't really care to talk about my diving hobby unless I have just taken a dive or I am going somewhere new and need specific information. So I rarely go to diving forums.

 

I think we all love our fish no matter what type they may be, but I see the importance for events like this. When a alien species comes into a area and invades the territory of a native species what happens to the native species? A lot of times you end up losing the native species or at least greatly hurting its ability to thrive where it belongs. So by letting these lion fish stay in the area they dont belong, what about all the other species of fish you love that are from that area? What if you lose other fish because of the invasion? (poorly organized though I know, but hope you understand)

 

But that's not my fault you don't go to diving sites.

Again, don't preach to me the importance of this topic, I get it. I would eat one, my family are fisherman by trade. If there's one thing that's gory in this world, is catching and processing boat loads of fish. I've fought off tree huggers like Brain Adams and Paul McCarthy (and ex wife) when they came to my land to protest our seal hunt (too many seals reduces fish numbers.... and they are tasty). The environment is very important to me because if it was abused, my family won't eat.

To me its not a game, but a necessary evil. You've turned it into a competitive sport, cool, but I still don't think it needs to be "sported" on a pet site. I'm not sensitive to fish deaths, seen thousands die everyday in various ways. But I come here to kick back and talk about my pet lions.

I've had someone come into my lionfish tank build thread and post a Lionfish Control banner. Nice antics.

 

If anyone doesnt like the killing idea they should go down and purchase a few of the fish and help the benefit of the fish and science.it would be a win/win situation.Cheap lionfish=Smarter science.