Should Lionfish Be Killed Or Left Alone? | Survey Results

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Should Lionfish Be Killed Or Left Alone? Added On: 7/20/2010 1:17:59 PM Expires On: 1/20/2011 Status: Active Total Responses: 113
Here is an excerpt from an article I recently read: July 14th, 2010: "The venomous spikes on the small, striped fish can inflict serious injury, enough to send the person to the hospital in severe cases. Finding the Lionfish so close to the near-shore beaches is a new milestone for the invasion....The Lionfish are native to the South Pacific but have no known predators in the Atlantic. They got into the wild around Florida the same way many other invasive species did: They were released in to the wild by owners, this time by some aquarium owners." So here’s my question: Should Lionfish be killed or should they be left alone? You could argue that this isn’t evolution because humans introduced them into an environment where they could grow in numbers without being kept in check by natural predators. So does that mean we undo our error by killing all the Lionfish in the Atlantic? Or accept our mistake and let the Lionfish live?
1. Kill any Lionfish you see in the Atlantic. 70 (61.95%) 2. Let the Lionfish live to swim another day. 27 (23.89%) 3. Other, please comment. 16 (14.16%)

Optional Comments:

36 comments.

1. Kill Them !!! Posted on 8/29/2010 1:05:51 PM by Smithsgold

2. how can somebody even think to kill anything in the sea,is’nt there enough mindless killing of sea creatures allready? Posted on 8/17/2010 8:01:02 AM by JOE

3. kill them and eat them, I ate one in Bahamas-yum! Posted on 8/16/2010 9:34:37 PM by Minky

3. we have proved once again that we have no business "managing" our environment... We do what we do and Mother Nature tries to clean up after us. Posted on 8/15/2010 8:19:58 AM by justcuz7197

3. Introduce their predators into the waters to take care of them. Posted on 8/15/2010 12:23:00 AM by neilcp

3. I believe something should be done to limit the numbers, like doe tags for hunting. No species should be killed to extinction, look what the human race has destroyed, but I don’t want them wiped out! Posted on 8/11/2010 11:52:46 AM by Catman

3. Being a hunter I understand management and invasive species. If the people in the know see them as a threat then some form of control is proper. I only kill what I eat except for coyote which a a growing problem in Pa. So count me in for lion fish Posted on 8/8/2010 6:36:39 PM by John_giu

1. I think they need to be filled in order to teach other fish to eat them. I know places are doing that now. Saw a video of a moray eel eating a live one and a dead one was fed to an anonome. Posted on 8/6/2010 9:07:10 AM by divergirl50

3. There are programs to catch them but is it enough? Posted on 8/6/2010 5:11:37 AM by LimestoneCowboy

2. It’s not their fault they weren’t wanted by their oweners anymore. Howwever if they are such a large threat to sea life, I wouldn’t be opposed to humane culling. Posted on 8/4/2010 2:38:07 PM by Pixel

3. They are here now. It’s too late to kill them all. Now Darwin takes over. Posted on 8/3/2010 11:16:15 AM by uwlover4u

1. They dont belong in the atlantic.They are doing more harm to other marine life Posted on 7/31/2010 7:47:15 PM by Indiana

1. They don’t belong there, they are destroying reefs by their unatural presence. It doesn’t matter how they got there. Ask the Australians about introducing species with no natural population controls and then more species to try and control THEM. Posted on 7/31/2010 10:21:10 AM by LandSeaAir

3. If you kill everything that is dangerous then start with the U.S. government first!!! Posted on 7/28/2010 9:24:11 PM by JerryGray

3. PAY A BOUNTY FOR EACH SAFELY CAPTURED SO THEY CAN BE RELEASED BACK INTO THE THEIR NATURAL HABITAT. Posted on 7/27/2010 11:25:15 PM by DivemasterofOknawa

3. have seasonal periods when it’s allowed just to contain the numbers Posted on 7/27/2010 4:19:29 PM by darkmaster1392

1. The possibilty exists of them making their way over through ship ballast water. They should removed and either transported to the Pacific (which no one talks about) or fillet them and eat them! Posted on 7/27/2010 12:27:29 PM by SnowboardDave

1. good eats Posted on 7/26/2010 11:45:24 AM by LONGTAILBDA

1. an invasive species destroying the ecosystem in the caribbean, should be hunted Posted on 7/26/2010 11:43:38 AM by jnowak100

1. If it’s something we did wrong, we should fix it Posted on 7/26/2010 10:17:54 AM by randydkc

3. personal choice with no ramifications Posted on 7/26/2010 12:48:57 AM by troush101

3. Need more info, We have issues with Zebra Mussles here in the MIDWEST good and bad. Posted on 7/25/2010 1:49:00 PM by Muckdivers

3. Maybe kill the ones that are causing harm to other species or to humans and leave the rest alone. Posted on 7/22/2010 10:25:02 AM by MDW

1. i thought it was the angel fish,,,,,,,havent really looked into it fully,,,,,,,,,, Posted on 7/22/2010 2:52:02 AM by artistnres

3. let the lion fish live, the ocean is its home..... Posted on 7/21/2010 11:03:05 PM by silent

1. kill them in the non-native waters Posted on 7/21/2010 6:39:42 PM by tardmaster

2. What right do we have to kill them We released them into the environment. Posted on 7/21/2010 1:26:41 PM by Darkstar

1. If the population can be contained then get rid of them, but it may already be too late. Posted on 7/21/2010 10:16:55 AM by MonkeyDiver

1. Every time you go into a resturant ask for "Atlantic Lionfish", maybe we can get them overfished too! Posted on 7/21/2010 9:44:25 AM by LatitudeAdjustment

1. If we don’t keep them in check, the only fish you will see while diving is the Lionfish ! Posted on 7/20/2010 10:35:01 PM by HogLifer

1. They eat way to much. You can watch them swallow sm. fish on the reef all day long. Posted on 7/20/2010 9:43:00 PM by DiveBuddyChgo

1. Unless a natural predator is introduced to the Atlantic, they will take over and kill a lot of the native fish. So they should be removed in any means necessary Posted on 7/20/2010 9:34:56 PM by ScubaNut08

1. Invasive species such as Lionfish will compete with native fish for food and habitat. They also eat a lot of reef fish. Kill em all! Posted on 7/20/2010 8:38:29 PM by bobfish

3. Let’s really mess things up and introduce a predator. Posted on 7/20/2010 3:27:52 PM by chazrich

1. I hate killing anythink but there has to be some control Posted on 7/20/2010 3:00:44 PM by scott

3. I’m on the fence about this one...maybe we could introduce the Lionfish’s predators (Large eels, frogfish and other scorpion fish) into the Atlantic. Posted on 7/20/2010 1:19:49 PM by Greg

Greg