Divers Fight the Invasive Lionfish | National Geographic
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2015
- The lionfish is invading Florida's coastal waters, harming native wildlife and habitat. This non-native species has venomous spines, lacks natural predators, and is able to reproduce quickly, which allows it to dominate other fish species that compete for resources. Divers are helping researchers catch the fish to learn more about its biology and develop ways to control the population.
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Click here to read more about how the invasive lionfish are damaging Florida's coastal waters: news.nationalgeographic.com/20...
VIDEOGRAPHER: Joe Kistel
SENIOR PRODUCER: Jeff Hertrick
EDITOR: Jennifer Murphy
SPECIAL THANKS: Captain Grayson Shepard, Alex Fogg, Meaghan Faletti, Larry Davis, Mary Kate Swenarton
Divers Fight the Invasive Lionfish | National Geographic
• Divers Fight the Invas...
National Geographic
/ natgeo - Zábava
Those fish are calm as fuck even when their buddies were being speared.
+dasupasin Well, they can't swim very fast for one thing and lionfish rely on their venomous spines for defense....
They are like the borgs, they will just come back in greater numbers, that's why, they don't care, they know they will assimilate the other species
They can swim fast when going after prey. Seen it.
Others are like. Go ahead, Spear his ass off. I didn't even like him anyways. 😂
Seems telling of the fact that they don't have natural predators. They think they're at the top of the mother effin food chain.
Lionfish: They got Bob. There goes Pete. Looks like they got Joe, too. I am not alarmed at all. Nope.
@Riviera Barocca 🤣 definitely an evolutionary example of not having natural predators.
They be like, nah. I'm not moving.
reminds me of cows.
@Riviera Barocca okay. You had me thinking there for long time 😝 I don't think they have fear of creatures that don't look like their natural predators from back in the Indo-Pacific. Scuba divers don't look like sharks or groupers. So it's not that they gained a new behavior in the Atlantic. It is behavior that is exhibited MORE in the absence of natural predators in the Atlantic.
That was a really good question 🙂
they believe their venomous spikes will save them... the fools
Lionfish: oho? You aproaching me instead of running away? I am fully fully poisoned you kn- *speared*
Another lionfish: oho? Are you aproaching me? *speared*
Lionfish friend: oho! *speared*
Old lionfish: *breath* *speared*
The fact that it didnt scatter away when its friend was speared is just hilarious. Like its totally normal
A good depth charge will do the trick
They have no predators, so they're too stupid to scatter when something is hovering over with a spear.
It's the venomous spines. In the past any predator would bite into one, get sick or hurt and never do it again. So they never had to run, and when you don't have to run from predators, you don't develop fear of them.
Making alot of assumptions, maybe those are all Jerry fish and no one cares.
@@EGarrett01
Those fish can run?
2 guys went on the show “Shark Tank” to educate everyone on the plight of the ocean bed and the dangers that Lion fish cause, in addition to promoting lion fish consumption. They were laughed right out of the studio and I think they missed a great opportunity because this is a serious issue.
Can never take that show seriously
I remember the lionfish segment but I don't remember them being laughed out of the studio. They laughed when the guys said the solution was to eat them and deliberately made a joke out of it.
A great idea =/= a profitable one.
Its a great idea for you to go around picking up trash from public areas. Doesnt mean its a profitable one.
One dude screwed himself over on the ring doorbell. Oh too little money for you. You're dead to me. Dude then sells it to amazon for like a billion.
We've had one season of the dragons here in Denmark... more than 3 of the proposed ideas they thrashed are really successful, less then 1/2 after
We just need to spread a rumor in China that they have medicinal properties
Yes someone made that comment already
😨 we want the numbers to decrease, not make them go extinct.
Arent theses fish native to China. Who u trying to fool
🤣
aceholeas I’m Chinese. If you add this to our food menu, we can add this fish to the list of endangered animals.
Dear others in the aquarium hobby: don't release unwanted fish from your tanks into local waterways!
same goes for fishers, too. crayfish are a big problem in the rivers where i live because some geniuses decided to release some so they'd always have bait where they fished. now they're everywhere and eat all of the dragonfly nymphs, which normally prey on mosquito larvae. so now there's mosquitoes everywhere just filled with disease.
@@sophiaum2315 In spain we have a huge problem with american crayfish and bass/perch/rainbow trout from people bringing them over here
some one with a bit of sense . the problem its the people not nature.
@@parate8628 same goes for The Netherlands sadly enough
@@sophiaum2315 Unwanted Crayfish? ... shuuuu Start a Crawfish Season and Laissez les bon temps roulez!
They used to be a huge problem in Florida. I'm seeing less of them. I have speared thousands, they taste excellent and They seem like less of a problem now than they were 10 years ago.
@GuMpAkC Sounds good! to me.
glad to hear it and good job!
Thank you for saving Florida ❤👌👍
taste?
@@jo1italianstyle lion fish
"It's an invasive species! What can we do?"
"How about we eat them all?"
They're like 50 dollar fish in the aquarium industry idk why they wouldnt sell them
@@johnboo4419 apparently they die quickly in captivity, they don't do well in tanks & people usually are out their depth. This was from another video of a guy just picking them up & putting them in tubs to sell
No natural predators... Well what about us?
@@hoodrat1632 we're scumbags
Yeah like in China, their stomach can hold back against any invasive species.
Do you REALLY want to get rid of these little bastards once and for all? It is very simple: Get all the Food Network and Cooking Channel show hosts to feature lionfish. Add lionfish to the ingredient baskets on Chopped. Get someone like Danny Meyer to feature it in his restaurants, and get the Associated Press to talk about dining on lionfish in its food coverage. Two years later, lionfishes will be endangered. It worked like a charm for the Patagonian toothfish - aka "Chilean Sea Bass."
actually that is a good idea.
ha that's how I feel about any invasive species
Lionfish is now available at the Pompano Beach Whole Foods market. They're delicious.
It's actually not that hard. Famous people like to look like they're Saving the Endangered Oceans. Promoting the catching and eating of these damn fish would do that...and as a bonus, the little bastards taste really good. It wouldn't be nearly as hard of a sell as carp or white suckers.
Eddie Wu - The times that I've seen lion fish available my Whole Foods, it's been sold as a whole fish.
Someone: I heard lionfish are good for male enhancement.
Lionfish: Goes extinct.
they are also responsible for nuking hiroshima and nagasaki...
stonks
And THAT'S how the male human species ended!
Lol🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
crazy to see how unbothered they are as other fish get speared right next to them. shows that they aren’t scared of predators in a way.
I always liked watching them slowly swim in the fish tanks in the pet store. When I worked at a local aquarium ,I even taught one to spit water at anyone leaning over his tank. The look on the curator's face was priceless when he got splashed!
How did you train it? That sounds so interesting
@@jygergruz9562shes the devil
Please tell us how you taught them that trick
Gotta catch 'em all
Buh da boom tsshh
bukifuriku Pokemon
Lionfish: A simple Water-type Pokemon...or it could be Water-Dark Pokemon : O
bukifuriku that no lion fish. Its magicarp.
definitely poison type
i could watch lionfish being speared all day
YourMoraleBoosterTV new youtube channel idea
Eat it. It is delicious
Right? I dont know why it's so satisfying
Jaime Vargas because they’re venomous and could possibly kill you
Same
Even though I know he's violently murdering those Lionfish, I can't help but see it as picking up sea-trash.
Because it technically is. The way those lionfishes were explained to be so uselessly trash. Lol
They taste good
@@icouldntthinkofagoodname7216 Like Coyotes
That's exactly what it is
@@icouldntthinkofagoodname7216 all God creatures are not useless
**Sees friend getting speared**
Lionfish: well there he goes
That's a lot of freaking lionfish!
That's what I was thinking ... I've never seen more than one, ever, in any undersea shot!
fr
I wonder how many fish can go into that tube 🤔
@@danmoua7686 patrick say 10 xD
I’m actually curious now how they taste
I'm glad that they are docile, it makes them so much easier to catch.
I like how the lionfish see one of their own get speared in the head & go on about their day as if nothing happened.
Imagine your entire life you have never seen anyone get hurt, or attacked or die. Not in Media, not in person, nothing. Then out of nowhere some strange thing grabbed your friend. You would not think. Oh crap....I better run. You would prob go. that was odd, and go about your day.
i'm thinking it's more of a "lol, more food for me then" situation. that reef was bare...
Just like people nowadays.🙂
@@jhenneleepianolicaycay2203 ? elaborate?
@@Pogueconductor It's kinda in their DNA. Humans are naturally afraid of the predators like tigers. These fishes are top of their food chain so they fear nothing.
I was a child in the 90’s when a hurricane hit Alabama/Florida area and I remember a Zoo had catastrophic failures on some of their amphibious and reptilian housing and it released a bunch of non-native species into the area - I want to say I remember this because they talked about the lion fish specifically and they were flipping out about what it could do to the ecosystem in the Everglades and in vacation spots in that area - not just the lion fish but all the stuff that got loose in that event.
same thing happened with katrina
Earlier this year I met a guy in Eleuthera, Bahamas who was one of the leaders there in the effort to kill the Lionfish. I love Eleuthera and its reefs, I'd hate to see an invasive species destroy all of its beauty.
Me too
You really have to hate humans, with this mindset.
Fried lion fish with festival ☺️ that’s how the Jamaicans have been combatting the problem and as bad as they are for the reefs they’re great for a Sunday lunch
Human history is always like a house chore. There's someone who makes a mess, theres's someone else who cleans that mess.
It’s nice that the fish don’t become alarmed and swim away while the divers are stabbing them all…just chilling and spectating! Like, “duuuuude! I wonder who’s going to be next?”
So i can spear as many of them as i want. No bag limit, and im helping the ocean life! Sign me up.
Yes but only in certain places like the Atlantic ocean
Lionfish tcos are fuckin bomb
I was thinking about this lol, spicy fish taco
Imagine swimming one day with all your friends and then BOOM lights out.
Want them to be harvested? Make videos showing how to easily clean them and list easy recipes to cook them….
Gordon Ramsay made a video of cooking one
just work with the Chinese to promote consumption of lion fish. They should be all gone from the area in no time.
+Jacky Ho RACISM!!!!!
+Jacky Ho I think Japan has done it already
+Alvin Yao (alviny02) well fuck you for thinking that
FIFA Lords & Legends :'-(
+Alvin Yao (alviny02) no everything that people say about race is "racist"
We having the same lionfish problem in Jamaica. The government want people to eat them, but most people scared because they are poisonous.
itsasin1969 I know that, but I guess its gonna take a lot convincing to get people to get them.
saadia scott Just fry one up for them, they're yummy!
saadia scott Perhaps the government should encourage community centers to have cooking classes that could cover safe consumption methods and education? Not sure how feasible that is but can't hurt to make a suggestion I suppose.
There are no down sides to eating lionfish. Just avoid letting the spines stick you. The problem is spearing them and handling them before they are fileted. Both problems are easily overcome with cheap very available equipment. The spines are not fatal they just hurt like the devil. Lay the fish out and use a nipper to clip off the spines before you start working on preperation. Then slap a little beer batter on them and deep fry to golden brown. Delish!
Man dude I live in Miami it is worse here good luck with u
Those fish truly have no fear. Judging by the way they’re just chilling they have no predators.
It's sad to just see lionfish when you're diving. What a curse.
@1:25 undercover stingray
+Philippe Konrad good spot
Good catch! I didn't see it at all.
Docktor Jim, it's in the sand, you can vaguely make out its outline.
You're right. I can see the stintray's eyes and a bit of their "borderline".
Agent Stinger is still undercover to this day
Lol! Why wouldn't they run away when they already see their friends getting speared???
herwyntimothy My thoughts, is that they evolved with the knowledge that they know how to camouflage itself. If it sees another lion fish, is may just think that other lion fish get caught, it may think it was just not as camouflaged/skillful enough.
The thing is....humans are harder to fool.
AnAverage Joe Lionfish don't have many predators, so they don't seem to realize that they're being hunted.
Jynz Velarde Lol thanks Mrs. Literal.
Jynz Velarde ???? they can swim away 0.0...
+herwyntimothy Having no natural predators they are extremely cocky. Like a drunk guy they are bulletproof, invisible and ten feet tall.
It’s a good thing they’re slow so they’re so easy to catch.
It’s also hard to imagine how they could’ve been so pervasive while being slow.
I was once picked to make a report of lion fish and I am thankful that I didn’t change with other students
Lionfish aren't native to the Atlantic--all it took were a few well-meaning aquarium owners who no longer wanted their pet lionfish, and now they're destroying their new habitat and endangering the native species that live there. I consider these people who are hunting the lionfish as fixing a problem that other humans caused.
Heck maybe have a bounty system on them too. Make it small to encourage people to take large amounts, either per fish or by the pound. The money spent on that would help more than making educational pamphlets
So ultimately it's always the humans...
@@UnyieldingSeraph the Bahamas already have a 24/7 open season on Lion Fish and I think they have something similar to a bounty system
@@abhishekmewar671 So we should be spearing humans instead, in order to addres the issue! Right? xD
@@kennedy2308 I'm not sure it is legal.
Lion fish tastes wonderful. They are all over Puerto Rico's reef, and I caught them all the time.
its crazy how they have no fear whatsoever, even when seeing one of their own speared just a foot away. they are so confident that nothing will hurt them.
They make awesome aquarium pets for saltwater tanks.
They're so cool to watch float in the water.
exactly I have one, and they are not so cheap either
This is the kind of video that perfectly explains our role in the environment in an educated way. We aren't there to exterminate wildlife but to balance it. If there is more lionfish then we will have more supply of lionfish for humans to eat/use, also we are allowing other species a chance to flourish. Doing good for the Earth in several important ways so that the circle of life continues.
The best thing you humans could do is produce a little bit less children, that is good for nature, not killing invasive species yourself are the cause for.
As a species, we are destroying far more than we are conserving or protecting. We are currently doing a great job of mass destruction of species and their habitats.
Eating our way out of a problem. I will take one for the team and handle the eating part.
eating isn't really the issue, catching them is the problem since they just multiply so fast and you can't use a hook or net to catch them, it has to be speared
Why is this so satisfying for me someone help lol
Lowkey lionfish hunting looks fun
Turn them into garden fertilizer, organic gardners would be all over this as fish emulsion (I can say from personal experience) is a really great booster for garden plants and they would also be helping to eradicate an invasive species through their purchases, regardless if you want to find a way to get rid of them you have to create a commercial incentive because as we know human beings are really good at wiping out species but only when they have a monetary incentive to do so
Totally true, plus local governments only have limited funds to combat them as well
Nice video.A couple years ago I caught a bunch of lionfish and had them for pets for a good while.They made great pets since they where easy to take care of.Lionfish taste very good as well so I now spear them and make ceviche from the fillets.
Not enough divers
Bro its like picking up trash
The amount of people who don't know what they are talking about is too damn high.
+thathotfeeling It's like they see something die then they have to defend it's existence or something. Like they know more then biologists or scientists.
As an aquarist who handfeeds these volitans daily, I will admit that it's a little hard to watch for me :L
Lionfish are one of the tastiest fish on the reef. Use a garden clipper to cut off the spines before you filet the things though, one stick and you're in for four hours of pain.
They’re very tasty! We have eaten Lionfish in the Caribbean often, and they’re invasive and highly problematic there too.
Recently Groupers have been seen predating on the Lion Fish, we can only hope that it continues and it gives the native species a chance to regrow their populations.
Lion Fish have started showing up on the southern coasts of the UK, and local fishermen are culling them out as they find them.
Sad to see we gotta do that but they are a danger to our reefs so we have to
balance must be restored. They serve a purpose
balance must be restore? then u should start killing someone XD
precisely in order for nature to balance humans should stop reproducing. after all humans are the greatest invasive species this planet ever exist
+shigaraki tomura SO STEP RIGHT UP, BE OUR FIRST GUEST TO TRY OUR NEW IMMEDIATE EXTERMINATION COMPENSATION PLAN! END YOUR SUFFERING, AND THAT OF OTHERS AS WELL! TRY IT TODAY FOR FREE, AT YOUR EXPENSE, 100% GUARANTEED!
We should just relocate them to somewhere they aren't hurting the other reef life.
I would love to go snorkling and go spear fishing to kill a ton of these O.O
VideosAreDrugs Same, wish they would pay to send us there.
+VideosAreDrugs some parts of the lionfish are poisonful.
Just informing.
+Giannis Mariettos Lionfish Only the spines are dangerous. Their meat is actually quite good.
Chris Byrd really?
so, if i catch 1 of these and i remove their spines before cooking can i eat it without any fear?
how about the meat around the spines?
usually a poisonful part have also got some poison arount it.
Giannis Mariettos yes.
Masaru would be drooling over that nonchalant catch.
I remember diving at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park with a couple of buddies back in 1971 and my dive partner saw one and he started to reach out to touch it because it too was very docile. I knew what it was and the danger they posed so I screamed into my regulator to warn him.
Stir-fry it with minced ginger and chili-garlic sauce.
Or shallow fried with garlic chives and black bean sauce.
Just make it _delicious_ - invasive species problem solved.
;)
poison
Kimmie Alonzo
Nope.
1) Lionfish are "venomous" not "poisonous." Like venomous snakes, the lionfish's meat is completely edible, the venom is only in the spines.
2) The venom is a protein, and like all proteins, it denatures (and becomes harmless) when cooked.
3) The venom is very painful if injected into your bloodstream, but drinking it, even raw, isn't very dangerous. (But don't do it, anyway, you could have a cut in your mouth.)
lionfish.co/im-not-lyin-the-10-most-common-lionfish-myths-busted/
=)
_Bon Appetit!_
+Kimmie Alonzo you just got served a big plate of KNOWLEDGE by the way thanks for the info original commenter very cool
+Jane Lin "invasive species" are not truly a problem, this just shows a good food stock :)
+Jane Lin As well as the fact that the venom isn't in the flesh, only the barbs. Cut the barbs and clean the filet and it tastes pretty close to cod.
They can be traced back, through DNA, to a single mated pair, likely released from an aquarium.
Details.
Not just details. De whole fish.
I was surprised to see these lionfish in my local fish aquariums.
Lion fish are some of the best tasting and healthiest fish to eat !
I didn't know Lion Fish were such problem.
Believe me, there are still a lot of things that you don't know.
Same
Damn. I've never seen so many in one place.
Their invasion is terrible, but at least they seem pretty aloof when it comes to harvesting them ... they are just loitering, watching their friends get speared up and they don't even flee!
Great to see the awesome guitarist Eric Johnson assisting in this cause.
You guys should go lion fish hunting in the Bahamas. And since I live there when you go diving take me with you. Lol
(I'm serious though)
I haven't tried it yet.
Amazing I feel this is a really effective method of removing the invasive species and that hand spear fishing this species is a great way to drop the numbers of the species in the area while causing less distress to other local fish...please raise awareness and at this point people cause it so people should fix it and if we can get rid of this species by increasing demand we can help the cause
My only concern would be that the surviving Lionfish would eventually become openly hostile to humans over time, after several generations of ruthlessly exterminating them. They don't seem to care for now, but with their venom? If they started to react negatively to being caught/other Lionfish getting caught near them, it could end up with a lot of divers/hunters getting hurt (or worse).
@@thetaintedbear4557 that makes no sense these are defensive fishes and can’t offensively use there spines they are simply a defense mechanism.If anything mass culling them will only scare them away from humans
They seem very calm...you probably just need a large sea hoover!
Very awesome footage. Thanks a lot!
This looks like a fun job. What do you do for living? I'm a diver and I kill as many lionfish I can.
lol you know these fish are the top of the food chain cause they give zero fucks about getting caught lol... i wonder how they taste... lol
delicious!!
@@bensouthwell809 her comments already 3 years old maybe she already ate it haha
I remember eating fresh lionfish sandwiches from a diveshop in Dominica. Delicious! Never seen it on a menu anywhere else, but will definitely order it if I do. Unfortunately you can't get them in normal mass fishing methods.
I love this animal in feeding frenzy lol.
Hog of the sea
Do a spearfishing comp. Most fish and biggest fish prize.
Amazing video!
Did not know they were a menace in Florida!
I ate lionfish in Aruba last year; it's delicious!
that spea5r fishing shit look fun as hell
Bruh this is why the next time I go to the beach I'm ask for lion fish at every restaurant I go to
Thank you, thank you, thank you for just letting an expert talk. Instead of the increasingly popular young, female voice-over.
Those black lion fish were beautiful.
Chinese could make them an endangered species fast.
You are an endangered species 🥴
@@tysonfranswah9296 simp
🐸 waaaaaat
Thats one way of helping the environment, just make it delicious.
Just add garlic
Wow, so many lion fish! Yum! They are really tasty!
What a unique creature.
i don't approve of spear fishing because i do a lot of catch and release, but this would be my only exception of it! Gotta protect our waters. lets go eat some lion fish!
i'm considering using my vacation days to go down and help remove these lion fish
Call it a delicacy and put a "fancy" price tag on it.
Very interesting. A commenter said fewer lionfish were seen recently. I hope so.
Just let the Japenese its available for consumption -- I wanna try lionfish sushi!!!
*Chinese
Noah Kane you are thick aren't you,the chinese didnt invent sushi,it was the Japanese so before you go correcting people do some research.
wolf forces lol oops I thought he was saying like everyone else how the chinese will mass harvest stuff
Japanese are very picky, the only poisonous fish they eat is the Fugu, and most people are still afraid to eat them.
lionfish sashimi?
They're like low level monsters in an MMORPG roaming mindlessly around to be culled for power ups.
They taste terrific! You just have to watch out for the spines. Make sure you use a three pronged spear
You can eat them. You can search Japanese lionfish preparation videos. They look really tasty!! I’d love to try them!
They have natural enemies in their native habitat. It’s opening another can of worms though entering more species into the Atlantic just to deal with the Lionfish.
Thank God people are here to help nature thrive!
They destroy it, hopefully your comment was sarcastic.
They look cool af though!
1:26 Wondered why this part was the "most replayed" took me a few seconds to see it 😂😂
**Linda & Debbie having a conversation**
...Carl passes by...
Carl: Hey good morning ladies! What are you up to?
L&D: Oh nothing just a normal chitchat. How about you Carl?
C: Wow. That’s great! I was just going to the-aghhhhh!!! (Carl gets speared)
L&D: Oh no... anyway
Just taking a GAWD damn net and get em all up! Then say "GOTTA CTACH EM ALL!"
I'm going to guess... 9. Between 7-11 years old.
problem is, this is the coral reef. An industrial-scale net would indiscriminately kill off both the coral and the lionfish.
I would love to fish the lion fish challenge!!! I have my advanced, nitrox ,and twin !! I would love to see how many I could catch! I have dove with sharks and all over from st Thomas to the kelp feels in cali! But short of diving for treasure this is my new goal
😁😁😁
Gorgeous fish.