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Invasive Species Spearfishing & Science Discuss invasive exotic species such as lionfish, carp, snakehead, etc. including news, spearfishing and scientific research in any geographical region.

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Old 10-03-2012, 09:10 PM   #1
SpearMax
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Lightbulb Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

Dr. James Morris at NOAA has just released this really cool e-book:

Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

To view/download a free copy please visit: http://lionfish.gcfi.org/manual/

I posted just one graphic below. Here is the message from Dr. James Morris and others:

Quote:
We are pleased to announce the release of Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management. To view/download a free copy please visit: http://lionfish.gcfi.org/manual/

The purpose of this manual is to assist coastal managers and field workers with local control and research efforts for invasive lionfish.

This project would not have been possible without the support of NOAA, REEF, ICRI, United Nations Environment Programme, Caribbean Environment Programme, SPAW-RAC, and the over 40 participants of the 2010 Caribbean Regional Lionfish Workshop.

We are especially grateful to GCFI for allowing this book to be the first in the new GCFI Special Publication Series.

Chapter authors include James Morris (NOAA), Dayne Buddo (University of the West Indies, Jamaica), Stephanie Green (Simon Fraser University), Ricardo Lozano (CONANP, Mexico), and Lad Akins (REEF).

Spanish and french translations coming soon.

James Morris

From the Back Cover:

The introduction of lionfish into the Atlantic Ocean is now recognized as
one of the major ecological disasters of the last two decades. Today
lionfish are found in nearly all marine-habitat types along the Southeast
United States, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean. Densities of lionfish have
surpassed some native reef fish in many locations. The ecological impacts
of this invasion are far-reaching — from disruptions to the structure and
function of reef communities to impacts on commercial fishing and the
tourism industry.

Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management provides best
practices for lionfish control and management, including control strategies,
outreach and education, research, monitoring, legal considerations, and
ideas for securing resources and partnerships. By following these best
practices, resource managers can reduce the local impacts of invasive
lionfish in marine protected areas and other places of ecological and
economic importance.

“Invasive lionfish pose a clear and present threat to coastal marine
ecosystems and fisheries of the tropical Western Atlantic, Caribbean,
and Gulf of Mexico. Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management
is a comprehensive compendium of up-to-date information for
understanding and effectively addressing this worst of marine invasions.”
— Mark A. Hixon
Professor of Marine Ecology and Conservation Biology
Oregon State University

“Our globalized economy, characterized by the continuous transport of
species around our planet, including marine species, presents urgent
invasive species challenges such as lionfish in the Caribbean. Invasive
Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management provides many best practices
that, if followed, will empower coastal managers to address this everincreasing
problem in the Wider Caribbean.”
— Alfredo Arellano Guillermo
Director General de Conservación para el Desarrollo
Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP)
México
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Old 10-07-2012, 10:38 AM   #2
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

im writing a thesis in my highschool on invasive lionfish and you have no idea how much this is going to help me, thanks for posting man
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Old 10-07-2012, 01:14 PM   #3
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Wink Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

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Originally Posted by seachaser132 View Post
im writing a thesis in my highschool on invasive lionfish and you have no idea how much this is going to help me, thanks for posting man
YES - I can imagine.

Just remember two things:

Properly cite the research source.

Don't plagarize - read and rewrite.
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Old 10-07-2012, 02:11 PM   #4
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

i already APA cited it and i just take notes while i read then type me info off of my notes
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Old 10-07-2012, 08:54 PM   #5
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

I wrote a research paper last semester on Invasive Lionfish. Absolutely incredible reproduction rate these invadors have!
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Old 10-07-2012, 09:04 PM   #6
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

Someone needs to write a book called "Lionsfish- a lost cause" . There is zero chance that humans can reverse or even put a dent in this problem. Adapt and conform, thats all we will be able to do at this point.
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Old 10-08-2012, 05:11 AM   #7
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

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Someone needs to write a book called "Lionsfish- a lost cause" . There is zero chance that humans can reverse or even put a dent in this problem. Adapt and conform, thats all we will be able to do at this point.
sadly, its true. but we still have to at least keep it relatively under control
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Old 10-08-2012, 06:24 AM   #8
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

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sadly, its true. but we still have to at least keep it relatively under control
These lion fish derbys are fun, it gets the kids and other pepople out in the water killing them. I Agee it's a great way to introduce people to the spear fishing world, but lion fish will never go away. There is no managing them.

I really wish I took a photo the day we pulled one up at 1600 feet. The filets on him were HUGE. He was the size of a shoe box.
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Old 10-08-2012, 08:47 AM   #9
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

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Someone needs to write a book called "Lionsfish- a lost cause" . There is zero chance that humans can reverse or even put a dent in this problem. Adapt and conform, thats all we will be able to do at this point.
I disagree. You should read the link that Spearmax posted above.

Nobody is saying that we are going to eliminate all of the lionfish in the Atlantic. There will always be lionfish at 300' that we aren't going to spear. However, there is a big difference in the populations of lionfish on reefs where divers are hunting them on a regular basis, and reefs where divers rarely go. It's these reefs that are diver protected that will continue to hold juvenile native fish. If we do nothing, then eventually the lionfish will run out of prey and their population will stop growing because they have nothing left to support themselves. Once you've seen a coral head with 20 lionfish hanging around it and not a single juvenile in the area, you begin to get the picture.

A lot of people think that because lionfish haven't taken over their native reefs, they won't destroy ours. If you read the book in the link posted above you'll see that there are big differences between the Atlantic lionfish and Indo-pacific lionfish. Such as they have no predators over here, continual rather than seasonal breeding, occupying a larger portion of the water column, and they are growing larger here.

If you think the goal is to eliminate all the lionfish, than yes, it can feel hopeless. The real goal is to reduce their population as much as possible so that our native grouper, snapper, etc have a chance at survival, and since the juveniles tend to live on the shallow reefs where divers hang out, there is a lot we can do.
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Old 10-08-2012, 09:35 AM   #10
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

How do the lion fish in the pacific not take over the reefs like they are doing in the caribbean? Is there soemthing that keeps their numbers in check over there that doesnt exist on the east coast?
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Old 10-08-2012, 10:13 AM   #11
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

The lion fish WILL NEVER EVER EVER be eliminated, any idea or thought that they will is merely a fallacy. They can make an attempt (like they are now) but itll never happen. We have more derbies in the key then i can count on two hands and they are stil overwhelming the waters. I dont need some scientific studies to tell me this, despite the fact ive read most of them.. They are in 1800+ feet already and twice the size of footballs.

I pass by a ton of them every-time i dive, because im not spending all that money and time and effort to go out and kill a bunch of lions. I do a spear and release anyways. Perhaps if other people did the same we could get our native fish eating them more often. I use them as bait and they work 110% of the time.

I really dont want to have this get out of hand, but the reality is that our eco system will have to adapt with these fish. Just like it has been for the past few millions of years. Jew fish and lion fish are the two biggest problems i see on the reef today. That and the occasional turd nugget floating from the nearby cruise ships....
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Old 10-08-2012, 10:42 AM   #12
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Re: Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management

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Originally Posted by DaveG99 View Post
How do the lion fish in the pacific not take over the reefs like they are doing in the caribbean? Is there soemthing that keeps their numbers in check over there that doesnt exist on the east coast?
The Indo-Pacific lionfish has had thousands of years to reach equilibrium with it's environment, my understanding is that they do have predators in their native area, but the fish over here that could be eating them, like grouper, sharks, etc. still have not learned that they are a food source. As it says on page 18 of the posted book, while the lionfish feeding habit is normal in it's native range, it's style of feeding is unique in the Atlantic, which makes it such an effective predator and capable of out-competing our native predators. The density information on page 19 is interesting also.

I think one of the biggest factors though is like I mentioned above, the lionfish in the Indo-Pacific are seasonal breeders, while the Atlantic variety seems to be breeding constantly.

Tony, I agree, I'm sure our ecosystem will adapt to this, eventually. Personally, I only have another 20 or 25 years of spearing grouper left, and I'm afraid evolution is too slow a process.
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