Read the following article and answer the following questions:
1. What solutions for removing the invasive lionfish are divers using and do you think that these solutions are effective/have any drawbacks?
2. In your opinion, would setting up a market system with the governments aid drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem? Or is the intense reproductive rate of lionfish too much for a market to make a substantial difference?
As of right now, divers are mainly just fishing for these lion fish in order to try and decrease the population, I think that these solutions are not effective because obviously they're still and issue and I think that these lion fish can actually create beneficial factors if not fished upon.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think that creating a market system would cause over fishing to occur and that yes it would decrease the population, but it would create a large issue in the opposite end of the spectrum when the lionfish become endangered due to overfishing.
1. Divers have began hunting this dangerous fish in order to decrease its population which has increased by 700% between 2004 and 2008. Groups have also began creating public events such as derbies in order for divers to use the prize money as an iniciative to hunt them. Some groups have also began promoting the Lionfish as a food so that the divers in the affected areas will kill it. I believe that these methods are only useful to a certain extent because even with all the ongoing events and promotion that have caused the hunting of this species of fish the fish can reproduce at a rate much faster than they are being killed.
ReplyDelete2. I think that setting up a market system with the governments aid would only decrease the number of Lionfish in the marine ecosystem if new technology was developed to hunt these fish because so far the people who have attempted to decrease the popoulation haven't made much of a dent because they are dangerous and difficult to handle. If the same methods that are being used right now are continued the only thing that will occur is that the population will increase due to the rapid rate at which these fish reproduce
1. From what the article says, the only solution these divers have is to "kill it and grill it", the effectiveness to this tactic will only be useful to some extent, but as the blog says, the lionfish produce 2 million eggs yearly, and if they are let to reproduce, the number of lionfish will begin to grow exponentially, and might cause extinction to other fishes/life living inside of the coral reefs.
ReplyDelete2. well it seems like a pretty good idea to set up a market just for selling lionfish as a cuisine, or by other parts of its body, because it would keep the lionfish population from going out of control in number, and people would make profit off this dangerous fish. but if the market, flourishes way too much, it would cause a downward spike to the population of lion fish due to overfishing, and like the dodo bird, it would bring the species into extinction .
1. Divers have been trying to kill as many of the lionfish as they can to lower the popoulation, and they are coming up with new, more efficient and safer ways to hunt the fish, such as the special spear being designed. So far I think that the hunting has not been making a huge amount of progress because the amount of fish way outnumbers the number of people hunting for the fish, and they keep reproducing even while they are being hunted. Their methods might be more effective if more people hunted for them or they came up with ways to kill more at a time until they caught up with the rate that the fish are multiplying at so that they population is at a steady state, and then eventually starts to decrease.
ReplyDelete2. I think that setting up a market system for the fish would most likely help in reducing the population because more people would want to try it and companies would want to make money, so they would send people out to hunt the lionfish and they would probably want to compete with other companies selling the fish, so they would want to kill as many fish as possible and would probably go to any means necessary to get the fish if it was popular with its customers. Depending on the rate of the hunting and the fish's reproduction, the fish could possibly become endagered or their high rate of reproduction and success in finding other food and dominating other organisms may just keep them at a steady population.
1. What solutions for removing the invasive lionfish are divers using and do you think that these solutions are effective/have any drawbacks?
ReplyDelete-As far as removing lion fish, divers are using spears and protective gloves along with reward paying derbies to help promote the hunting of the fish. The main solution to reducing the population is hand on hand combat, there is no other major solution. I don't believe that these solutions are effective or have any drawbacks once so ever. The population is too high for this to be an effective method of removing the fish.
2.In your opinion, would setting up a market system with the governments aid drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem? Or is the intense reproductive rate of lionfish too much for a market to make a substantial difference?
- In my opinion, setting up a market for lion fish would not create a substantial difference in in the lion fish population, they reproduce like mad and I doubt that eating lion fish has a wide spread appeal.
1. Divers are currently using spears and vinyl nets to capture fish. Spears can be harmful to other fish if unskilled divers miss the lionfish and they require use at close proximity to the poisonous lionfish causing harm for the divers.
ReplyDelete2. Government assisted markets cannot drastically help the problem because of the high reproductive rates of lionfish.
1. What solutions for removing the invasive lionfish are divers using and do you think that these solutions are effective/have any drawbacks?
ReplyDeleteDivers currently have a wide array of weaponry available for lionfish killing. Weapons are often quite creative, ranging from spears of varying lengths with electric points to nets. A danger of hunting lionfish is that they have very quick reflexes and sharp spines. Lionfish removal devices therefore need to provide protection to their wielders as well as be easy to move around.
2. In your opinion, would setting up a market system with the governments aid drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem? Or is the intense reproductive rate of lionfish too much for a market to make a substantial difference?
I think that the lionfish reproduce too quickly for people to be able to round enough of them up to make a notable difference. I think it would be a better idea for scientists to put obstacles on lionfish reproduction as they have done with mosquitos.
1) The marine community had given people the okay to kill the lionfish. There are lionfish derby's as a competition to see who can kill the most and thus these people get money. Divers are submerging with spears, nets, and protective gear to battle with the lionfish. Different spears are avaiable for killing the lionfish, some with a tip that paralyzes the fish. Divers have tried many uses for dead lion fish such as giving fillets to chefs, feeding them to eels, and even eating them themselves.
ReplyDelete2) I think that we could always give this approach a shot, but there is no guarantee that it will have a successful outcome. The rate at which the fish reproduce could serve to be a problem. However, people may have even more of a drive for killing them if they know that there is a market out there for them.
1. What solutions for removing the invasive lionfish are divers using and do you think that these solutions are effective/have any drawbacks?
ReplyDeleteDivers are trying to remove the lionfish by hunting them, which they are allowed to do, and encouraging the popularization of them on menus to create a higher demand for them, so that more people will try and hunt them. I don't think this solution is very effective because as the article said, there are way too many lionfish to be able to completely get rid of them, and so they will just continue to reproduce but they will have more advanced skills to stay away from the hunters, make them even more dangerous.
2. In your opinion, would setting up a market system with the governments aid drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem? Or is the intense reproductive rate of lionfish too much for a market to make a substantial difference?
I don't think this approach would drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem because I don't think the idea of eating lionfish would ever be able to become popular throughout a large enough population to create very noticeable results, plus the lionfish reproduce so fast, it would hardly make a dent in their population.
1. What solutions for removing the invasive lionfish are divers using and do you think that these solutions are effective/have any drawbacks?
ReplyDeleteDivers are hunting the lionfish to remove them from the environment they have invaded. They use spears to try to kill the fish, but because most of these divers are inexperienced, they miss and kill something else instead. In my opinion, these solutions are not effective because it's relatively easy for the lionfish to evade the spear and the population won't decrease.
2. In your opinion, would setting up a market system with the governments aid drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem? Or is the intense reproductive rate of lionfish too much for a market to make a substantial difference?
I don't believe making a market system for the lionfish would make a substantial difference in their population. Even if the market system existed, I'm doubtful that it would be enough to reduce the number of lionfish, especially with their high reproduction rate.
1. What solutions for removing the invasive lionfish are divers using and do you think that these solutions are effective/have any drawbacks?
ReplyDeleteDivers are spearing lion-fish and using nets to kill the lionfish, the spearing is not very effective considering the thousands of eggs laid per yearand the rapidly growing opulation, capturing in a net might be more effective since its not a close distance kill.
2. In your opinion, would setting up a market system with the governments aid drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem? Or is the intense reproductive rate of lionfish too much for a market to make a substantial difference?
I think that with government aid, and marketing system the population would not reduce because of their rate of reproduction.
1. The solutions that divers are using to remove this invasive species are hunting them, using spears and nets, and then encouraging restaurants to make them a popular item on their menu so that there will be a higher demand for them. I don't think this solution is effective as it is hard to kill the fish by spearing them and as the article said there is too many to get rid of all of them, so they will just keep reproducing.
ReplyDelete2. I don't think making a system to market the fish would make any difference, because the reproduction rate is so large that they'll never be able to get rid of them no matter how many drastic measures they take.
1. It seems that the solution in place is working OK, although it would have been nice if the article had given any information if the hunting has killed the lion fish faster than they replace those numbers through reproducing. The one negative drawback is that they my over time just kill off the weak lionfish and leave only the super fast and nimble lionfish, but I'm sure hunters and hunting gear will also get better.
ReplyDelete2.I'm not sure government aid is needed. It looks like there is already a pretty good incentive to hunt. They can be hunted for food, sport, or sold to restaurants. Market incentives might become useful when the hunt becomes more difficult though.
1. The divers are hunting the lionfish and trying to make it into a fancy dish served at restaurants that you would pay a ridiculous price for as a way to control the population. I feel that this is effective but would be more effective if the divers were given some sort of training so they know what they're doing. Without the training, however basic it may be, the divers are hurting other sea creatures that are not the target.
ReplyDelete2. I feel like it would definitely help reduce the lionfish population if the government set up a market for it. A market was once created for animal skins as home decor which caused many animals to come close to or become extinct. There is a market for ivory and elephant populations in South Africa are low so the same will happen with lionfish population. The rate of reproduction may cause problems however if scientist perhaps investigate, experiment and created some sort of solution as in the malaria carrying mosquitoes.
1) The method that these scientists and divers are using to get rid of this fish is by using spears and nets to kill it. Also by marketing the consumption of this fish that way to reduce the numbers. I believe that these two things are great ideas because they are not wasting the Lionfish meat and its getting rid of it. One huge draw back to this though is how hard it is to actually kill this fish and how many boats don't want to handle this fish due to its stings.
ReplyDelete2) I believe that if the government actually made a marketing industry out of this fish it would work out as long as they find effective ways of catching and killing it. And since this has already been tried out in some restaurants and the meat is actually good I think this market would get great profit and help the ocean.
1.Currently the divers are using the tactic of spearing the fish on order to try to eliminate the population. The drawback of this is that they also end up harming the rest of the ecosystem and also the fish learn to adapt on failed captures.
ReplyDelete2. Unless if a market is created where lionfish is as desired as lobster most likely they will not be eliminated by the shear amount one fish is able to populate with eggs.
1. Divers are using spears and nets in order to kill as many lionfish as possible. A more effective way could be training large numbers of divers to kill lionfish as a job, fisherman, and use the fish for food.
ReplyDelete2. I think creating a market system would be an effective way to eliminate the lionfish, however, it would be very easy to over fish them leading to the lionfish's endangerment.
1. Solutions for removing the invasive lion-fish divers are using are basically to kill lion-fish because if not they( lion-fish) will over populate and cause damage to the ocean's ecology as well as lion-fish have "incredible population boom of lionfish that have seen densities increase 700% between 2004 and 2008." These solutions will not have a set back because we are basically controlling how many lion-fish are being produced to stop the overpopulation and help other fish from becoming extinct.
ReplyDelete2. I think that creating a market system is just a way to stop the population of lion-fish from becoming over bearing in the ocean. Plus, "A lion-fish can produce more than 2 million eggs per year."
1. For the most part, the only solution that has been tried so far has been to "kill 'em and grill 'em," which, though successful to a degree, has probably not been enough to completely eradicate the Lionfish from their habitat. There are definitely drawbacks to vigilante hunters; lionfish are very aggressive and likely to attack or injure divers. In addition, poor hunting abilities are endangering and even sometimes accidentally maiming other species. However, both of these drawbacks hopefully won't be a problem anymore, seeing that better techniques and tools are being developed constantly.
ReplyDelete2. It really depends on the scale of the market. If there were to be a national campaign against the lionfish, it is possible that the sheer scale of it could successfully manage and maintain the lionfish. However, this runs the risk of not only overfishing the lionfish, but damaging their environment simultaneously. If the market system were only local (as it is now), it probably wouldn't be as effective.
1. What solutions for removing the invasive lionfish are divers using and do you think that these solutions are effective/have any drawbacks?
ReplyDeleteSo it looks like the plan is to try and have divers/fishermen to remove the species. Like the article says, this just isn't enough of a stress to stop the spread of lionfish. Hunting regulation hasn't gone very well with deer, bears, wolves, or other animals, why should it work now? I think it's pretty funny/insightful that agencies are able to convince restaurant goers to buy lionfish though. Whether or not it's true, if you you put something in a fancy restaurant, people will buy it at risk of being uncultured.
2. In your opinion, would setting up a market system with the governments aid drastically reduce the number of lionfish in the marine ecosystem? Or is the intense reproductive rate of lionfish too much for a market to make a substantial difference?
No. The low demand that would be created by the high cost resulting from the involved method of hunting (12/hour?) would be prohibitive. If trawlers could be used, sure, but that would kinda defeat the purpose of protecting the ecosystems. You can't just up and go thermonuclear.
1. The solution the divers are using to get rid of the lionfish are spearing, netting and fishing them. The major drawbacks to this method of hunting is it is slow and dangerous as the fish must be found, followed and killed, all while the people are in the water and could get hurt. Another draw back, mostly to the netting part of this, is that people may catch other fish in the nets other than the lionfish. Another drawback to swimming and hunting for the lionfish is that people are affecting the environment by invading and possibly contaminating the waters and scaring away other fish. This could affect the environment very easily by changing the food chain. However, this method is better than commercial fishing or attempting to chemically kill or drive away the lionfish because it has the least amount of affect on the local marine activity as the goals can be driven directly at the lionfish instead of a mass area attack that could harm all the wildlife.
ReplyDelete2. If the government sets up a market for eating the lionfish, the numbers will significantly be reduced. This is because even if human beings dont have the technology now, they will certainly invent something, and are, to make hunting and catching the lionfish much easier. Also, human have very little self-control when hunting is involved, especially government sanctioned hunting, such as with the buffalo or wild grouse in Western America. And, even if the numbers can not be reduced enough to kill all the lionfish, then lionfish hunting could become a lucrative business that will attract more people until there are no more lionfish.
1. Right now most divers are using spears and nets to capture the lionfish, however it is not enough to decrease the population significantly. It is also not every effective if the diver is not skilled and hits other fish. it's kinda of a every man for half a fish situation. However, it is the best method they have at this moment.
ReplyDelete2. The federal government has an idea of what they are doing, it is probably the best option for the lion fish right now, but it is still pretty unfeasible. For example, the marketing and campaign of this fish will take a long time, meanwhile the lionfish population is growing exponentially. In addition, the article stated that many fishermen don't want to deal with the danger of hunting these fish. It seems that the capital that goes into hunting these fish cannot be paid off by the mere sale of it in a few restaurants.
1. One solution currently be used for removing lionfish are commercial hunting often done by vigilante hunters. This method is inefficient because the hunters are getting hurt, although protective gear is being created to protect the diver. Many divers simply aren't trained to hunt them so they miss and harm other marine species. As well as endangering divers this method can't possibly compete with the reproduction rates of the lion fish and their adaptability.
ReplyDelete2. The effect of setting up a market system will depend on how much it is stressed. If it is really well designed and executed I think there is a chance that it could compete with reproductive rates. I worry that the introduction of government aid could cause widespread over hunting of the lionfish will drastically harm the population of this species. If the system is poorly planned and executed it will have no significant effect.
Recently, divers have been attempting to kill many of the fish to maintain the population in which technology has caught up with them as well, safer, faster, and ways to kill more fish.Hunting has not been making a massive amount of progress right now because there will always be more fish in the sea then humans on the earth. Also, fish will reproduce even when they are being hunted which allows for a maintenance of the population. The methods that they are using would be much more effective if the hunters came up with ways to kill more fish more efficiently which would allow for a quicker process and more effect. They would need to make it as fast as the rate of fish repopulation because then they could maintain and alter the steady-state environment.
ReplyDeleteGovernment aid would not be very helpful unless the demand for lion fish increased so much that changed need to be made. Right now, we are not seeing massive cravings for the lion fish and do not for example, see it as a delicacy like lobster or crab. Also, they would not be likely to be eliminated by the shear amount that one fish "family" is able to produce because of the number of eggs that are laid and then grown.
1) One way to lower the population of the would be to encourage divers to hunt for them. since they are a danger to us and there ecosystem, rewards, even small cash ones could be offered for each fish. once populations stabilize stop it.
ReplyDelete2) Government involvement doesnt make sense simply because this problem is not large enough. simply killing off a couple fish before mating season would be a better solution
1. Divers are primarily just hunting and fishing at the moment. Clearly these solutions need some work, as the population of the fish hasn't gone down all that drastically as of yet. Drawbacks of these methods would primarily include risk to the diver. As Lionfish are extremely poisonous, coming into contact with them poses serious risks to a diver.
ReplyDelete2. Government intervention in this case doesn't really make sense. This is because Lionfish, like any other fish, will be sought out and hunted, with or without help from the government.