100% Nature will find a new equilibrium one way or another, we can only hope to do damage control until that happens and hopefully change what that equilibrium eventually looks like.
Thank you, I have a few other videos from interesting dive sites I'm editing, and another big trip coming up next month out in the Gulf of Mexico off of Texas. Feel free to subscribe to see them!
I dive solo. On the one hand, technical divers are taught to bring redundant gear and solve all their problems underwater since coming straight up to the surface isn't an option when you have a decompression obligation. On the other hand, many tech courses say not to dive solo anyway, just because you never know what's going to happen and even with all the redundant gear, you don't have a redundant brain. Most dive charters have let me do my thing, but at least one has objected and said I need a buddy. But as a practical matter, tech divers spend lots of time and money preparing for their dives, and typically like to explore the interior of a wreck, so I think it would be difficult to find someone willing to go through all the trouble, with a DPV, to follow me around the outside of the wreck where the lionfish are. For that reason, I dive solo.
Are you going to greater depths because they're getting harder to find at shallower depths? That's what's happening in Cozumel because there seems to be a good demand for their tasty meat. I'm glad that they're getting harder to find.
I would say that's partly true; it would be more accurate to say they're getting harder to find where divers are regularly killing them, which is typically shallower. Since I started, my approach to finding lots of lionfish quickly became "look where others aren't diving." Depth is a big factor in how often divers clean a site, which eventually lead me to going deeper and getting into tech diving, but there are spots that hunters don't visit for other reasons than depth. For instance, in Pompano Beach, FL, the 3rd reef line is basically clean on the shallower western ledge that gets hit by novice hunters every day that ends in y, but has a decent amount of lionfish on the less popular eastern patches in 80-100'. However, back when I worked for a dive shop in Hollywood, we started using a dive charter that popped up in Haulover, and that same shallower western ledge was covered.
Not a single lionfish spotted during ~15 dives in the usual rec sites in cozumel in March 2023... but to be fair, I wasn't hunting and wasn't looking hard. Found ~10 and successfully speared ~5 during 20 dives in roatan in June 2023... and I was actively looking on those dives They are definitely less around at rec depths and those that are around are usually under coral outcroppings or barely visible deep inside crevasses. Would love to stumble on a site with them out in the open!
Do you prepare and eat them in different ways? If you do maybe you could include that in your videos. Catch and Cook videos do well. I know I’d watch lion fish catch and cooks all day. I just find it interesting turning invasive species into lunch. Feels satisfying even just watching your videos knowing someone is out there trying to do something about it.
Well I wasn't thinking of putting catch+cook in the same video, just because I think compartmentalizing the two will help if someone is interested in one or the other. But that's definitely on the way, as I LOVE to cook and eat them and have several recipes I would share. The lionfish from this video were made into poke and smoked on my Big Green Egg to make a dip. I also have a killer ceviche and a macadamia-coconut-crusted recipe.
Thank you! Yes, it is dangerous, wrecks have jagged edges sometimes, but also lots of fishing line, which as you might've noticed from the video is a big entanglement hazard. Apart from that, the depth is also dangerous, as you consume air faster the deeper down you go (higher pressure), and decompression sickness (the bends) also takes special measures to avoid. The current wasn't a big issue on this dive, but you are right that it can be an issue as well. Thankfully, I have been trained and certified in how to mitigate/avoid all these risk factors and conditions. It's definitely not something one casually jumps into without lots of training.
Just came across some of these videos & have since learnt how devastating they are on the environment, do you think spearfishing them is making any impact or is there a lot more still to do? Side note I’m from inland Australia so I don’t live near the beach & don’t even know if they are a problem here.
Hey Brett, thanks for stopping by! The bad news is that I think that spearfishing isn't the ultimate solution to the problem. They are finding lionfish at depths way beyond the limits of even the most ambitious tech divers, so they will never be completely eradicated until local predators start targeting healthy lionfish. The good news is that regular culling is shown to reduce their influence and improve reef health and biodiversity. That said, out in your neck of the woods is where lionfish are native, there are local predators that eat them and their eggs out there, so their numbers are kept in check naturally.
@@spearandspine9970 Single or Doubles? (Sorry I’m spamming you with questions - it was hard to tell your bottom time with all the video segments that were sped up.)
@@kurtsmith2699 No need to apologize, I will happily talk about scuba all day, and I could probably do to include runtimes on tech dives, along with do a gear video. I was on double HP120's, I suck air really bad while hunting and would've had to come up after 2 fish if I was on a single. Just checked my Perdix and runtime was 80 minutes. Spent first 10 minutes or so at 215ish, then ascended to the flight deck at 140-150 for 20 minutes before coming back to the tower and finally coming up for deco. About 40 minutes deco obligation with 36% lean and 79% rich. Used 40/85 GF on Buhlmann GF ZHL - 16C algorithm.
Excellent question... I cook them and eat them! There's a common misconception that they are poisonous and unsafe to eat, but they are actually venomous, meaning the toxin is localized to a part of their body, in this case their 17 spines. Snipping the spines off leaves not only a perfectly harmless fish, but the tastiest fillets that are white, flakey, and clean, with very little if any fishy taste/smell. My classics are ceviche, macadamia-coconut crusted, beer-battered, and blackened, but recently I've branched out to poke bowls and smoked lionfish dip, which both turned out excellent! I plan to eventually release some cooking videos, consider subscribing to see them when they come out!
Is there any evidence of the predictor fishes like sharks, eels etc are adopting to this new food source and have started hunting them? If they don't do that, we need to say good bye to our ocean eco system. The only other option is to find out what is the biggest predictor for lion fish in the Indian ocean and introduce it here. I have also seen few videos where divers feeding spared lion fish to sharks etc.. After sharks swallow lion fish how do they cope with the venom? How do we know that Sharks don't end up dead a day later?
I believe I have heard of at least a couple instances of predators targeting healthy lionfish, which is encouraging. I think predators have pretty tough stomaches and tolerate them to some degree. But the other issue with divers feeding lionfish to predators is that, while there's no evidence that it makes them more likely to target healthy individuals, there is plenty of evidence that it teaches predators that humans are a source of food, which is dangerous for everyone involved.
That’s awesome! I’ll be working on my tec cert here soon and can’t wait to go after some deep Lionfish on the O!
Really enjoy your videos, I just subscribed👍😊
The big O. Definitly on my Bucket List of Dives I want to do. Thanks for sharing.
Even if it doesn't dent their numbers, each one removed saves many native fish. Thank you!
100% Nature will find a new equilibrium one way or another, we can only hope to do damage control until that happens and hopefully change what that equilibrium eventually looks like.
these videos are so satisfying
So glad to hear it! Consider subscribing, I have more on the way!
These lion fish are a lot bigger than others I’ve seen in videos. I’m assuming they’ve been there eating longer.
Very nice
What was your tank and gas setup, if you don't mind my asking?
Saw it on a reply to another question... 18/20 trimix on double hp120s and a 40 (!) Minute deco
Outstanding
this is way cool!! diving at the most interesting places, and to do a nice favor to the reef´s comunity
Thank you, I have a few other videos from interesting dive sites I'm editing, and another big trip coming up next month out in the Gulf of Mexico off of Texas. Feel free to subscribe to see them!
Man that looks deep at the bottom , where’s your buddy? Or do you dive solo
I dive solo. On the one hand, technical divers are taught to bring redundant gear and solve all their problems underwater since coming straight up to the surface isn't an option when you have a decompression obligation. On the other hand, many tech courses say not to dive solo anyway, just because you never know what's going to happen and even with all the redundant gear, you don't have a redundant brain. Most dive charters have let me do my thing, but at least one has objected and said I need a buddy.
But as a practical matter, tech divers spend lots of time and money preparing for their dives, and typically like to explore the interior of a wreck, so I think it would be difficult to find someone willing to go through all the trouble, with a DPV, to follow me around the outside of the wreck where the lionfish are. For that reason, I dive solo.
Are you going to greater depths because they're getting harder to find at shallower depths? That's what's happening in Cozumel because there seems to be a good demand for their tasty meat. I'm glad that they're getting harder to find.
I would say that's partly true; it would be more accurate to say they're getting harder to find where divers are regularly killing them, which is typically shallower. Since I started, my approach to finding lots of lionfish quickly became "look where others aren't diving." Depth is a big factor in how often divers clean a site, which eventually lead me to going deeper and getting into tech diving, but there are spots that hunters don't visit for other reasons than depth.
For instance, in Pompano Beach, FL, the 3rd reef line is basically clean on the shallower western ledge that gets hit by novice hunters every day that ends in y, but has a decent amount of lionfish on the less popular eastern patches in 80-100'. However, back when I worked for a dive shop in Hollywood, we started using a dive charter that popped up in Haulover, and that same shallower western ledge was covered.
It's so satisfying seeing them get skewered and stuffed in those containers! I have a hankering to go out myself!
Not a single lionfish spotted during ~15 dives in the usual rec sites in cozumel in March 2023... but to be fair, I wasn't hunting and wasn't looking hard.
Found ~10 and successfully speared ~5 during 20 dives in roatan in June 2023... and I was actively looking on those dives
They are definitely less around at rec depths and those that are around are usually under coral outcroppings or barely visible deep inside crevasses.
Would love to stumble on a site with them out in the open!
Great work
Awesome job!
Good job
That was very satisfying! Great job!
Thank you so much! Consider subscribing to see new ones I have on the way!
Do you prepare and eat them in different ways? If you do maybe you could include that in your videos. Catch and Cook videos do well. I know I’d watch lion fish catch and cooks all day. I just find it interesting turning invasive species into lunch. Feels satisfying even just watching your videos knowing someone is out there trying to do something about it.
Well I wasn't thinking of putting catch+cook in the same video, just because I think compartmentalizing the two will help if someone is interested in one or the other. But that's definitely on the way, as I LOVE to cook and eat them and have several recipes I would share. The lionfish from this video were made into poke and smoked on my Big Green Egg to make a dip. I also have a killer ceviche and a macadamia-coconut-crusted recipe.
@@spearandspine9970 would be awesome! Can’t wait.
Very cool video -- but isn't it pretty dangerous swimming so deep around an old wreak like that? Lots of sharp objects and currents?
Thank you! Yes, it is dangerous, wrecks have jagged edges sometimes, but also lots of fishing line, which as you might've noticed from the video is a big entanglement hazard. Apart from that, the depth is also dangerous, as you consume air faster the deeper down you go (higher pressure), and decompression sickness (the bends) also takes special measures to avoid. The current wasn't a big issue on this dive, but you are right that it can be an issue as well. Thankfully, I have been trained and certified in how to mitigate/avoid all these risk factors and conditions. It's definitely not something one casually jumps into without lots of training.
Please make more vids! Love the editing
They're coming! Killed a bunch this past weekend and just gotta do some editing!
Just came across some of these videos & have since learnt how devastating they are on the environment, do you think spearfishing them is making any impact or is there a lot more still to do?
Side note I’m from inland Australia so I don’t live near the beach & don’t even know if they are a problem here.
Hey Brett, thanks for stopping by! The bad news is that I think that spearfishing isn't the ultimate solution to the problem. They are finding lionfish at depths way beyond the limits of even the most ambitious tech divers, so they will never be completely eradicated until local predators start targeting healthy lionfish.
The good news is that regular culling is shown to reduce their influence and improve reef health and biodiversity.
That said, out in your neck of the woods is where lionfish are native, there are local predators that eat them and their eggs out there, so their numbers are kept in check naturally.
L94 support
👏👏
What kind of gas are you breathing at 220’?
18/20 (18% O2, 20% He)
@@spearandspine9970 Very cool. And what kind of tank(s)?
@@kurtsmith2699 HP120's
@@spearandspine9970 Single or Doubles? (Sorry I’m spamming you with questions - it was hard to tell your bottom time with all the video segments that were sped up.)
@@kurtsmith2699 No need to apologize, I will happily talk about scuba all day, and I could probably do to include runtimes on tech dives, along with do a gear video.
I was on double HP120's, I suck air really bad while hunting and would've had to come up after 2 fish if I was on a single. Just checked my Perdix and runtime was 80 minutes. Spent first 10 minutes or so at 215ish, then ascended to the flight deck at 140-150 for 20 minutes before coming back to the tower and finally coming up for deco. About 40 minutes deco obligation with 36% lean and 79% rich. Used 40/85 GF on Buhlmann GF ZHL - 16C algorithm.
What do you do with the Lionfish?
Excellent question... I cook them and eat them! There's a common misconception that they are poisonous and unsafe to eat, but they are actually venomous, meaning the toxin is localized to a part of their body, in this case their 17 spines. Snipping the spines off leaves not only a perfectly harmless fish, but the tastiest fillets that are white, flakey, and clean, with very little if any fishy taste/smell.
My classics are ceviche, macadamia-coconut crusted, beer-battered, and blackened, but recently I've branched out to poke bowls and smoked lionfish dip, which both turned out excellent!
I plan to eventually release some cooking videos, consider subscribing to see them when they come out!
@@spearandspine9970 Nice! Good to hear.
Is there any evidence of the predictor fishes like sharks, eels etc are adopting to this new food source and have started hunting them? If they don't do that, we need to say good bye to our ocean eco system. The only other option is to find out what is the biggest predictor for lion fish in the Indian ocean and introduce it here.
I have also seen few videos where divers feeding spared lion fish to sharks etc.. After sharks swallow lion fish how do they cope with the venom? How do we know that Sharks don't end up dead a day later?
I believe I have heard of at least a couple instances of predators targeting healthy lionfish, which is encouraging.
I think predators have pretty tough stomaches and tolerate them to some degree. But the other issue with divers feeding lionfish to predators is that, while there's no evidence that it makes them more likely to target healthy individuals, there is plenty of evidence that it teaches predators that humans are a source of food, which is dangerous for everyone involved.
Subbed. Hope to see more soon. Love seeing invasive species removed from the environment.