Lionfish hunting

[NirvanaFan]

Lionfish are an invasive species in the US and can cause devastation of native fauna. There's no season or limit on shooting them on the East Coast. From what I've heard, they're pretty tasty as well.

@Darth, if you ever go diving in FL (or a bunch of places on the coast).....

 

[Greywolf224]

Darth don't need no stinking gun. He's just like Chuck Norris. He catches them bare handed and eats them right there.

 

[Darth]

Oh I'm quite familiar with them off of Florida.

Down in Key West we were on a wreck called the Vandenberg, old Navy satallite ship, and those ugly bastards were everywhere.

 

[Phauxtoe]

they taste GREAT!
very white firm flesh. it can be cook anyway.
I have a friend who is a dive master in Ft lauderdale and she is a devil with a speargun!

anyone down in that area let me know i will hook you up!

 

[FrankenCub]

I heard they taste great but haven't tried it yet, they sell them at Great American in JC. You want to keep your hands clear of them in the water, they are venomous. They are popular in the marine aquarium world, kinda like puppies. They get quite friendly with their owners.

 

[laney50w]

Those damned fish need to go! Awesome video! Loved it when the guy double-tapped the Lionfish just for kicks! LAUGHED MY ASS OFF!

 

[laney50w]

Gotta say, I ain't much for the ocean, or, scuba diving, etc....BUT....I'd sure as HELL reconsider my position on that! I'd LOVE to do me some Lionfish hunting with a Glock! YEAH BABY!!! Now that's some serious fun right there!

 

[Darth]

It's gotten a combination of so BAD and TASTY now that lionfish hunters (who often hunt with a speargun, obviously illegal in PRNY), get this clear plastic tube to catch the fuckers in. No limit.

I was more interested in the eel that was wriggling about.

 

[GOPerfect]

Looks like a great time.

It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

 

[Deplorable Me]

Oh I'm quite familiar with them off of Florida.

Down in Key West we were on a wreck called the Vandenberg, old Navy satallite ship, and those ugly bastards were everywhere.

USNS Vandenberg. I was a DOD civilian technician on her in 1981. We sailed out of Port Canaveral.

 

[Darth]

USNS Vandenberg. I was a DOD civilian technician on her in 1981. We sailed out of Port Canaveral.

Get the fuck out of here. Is that true?

(Because the sats on that rust ship ripped my swim shorts, and I'm looking to sue!)

It was that second sat on the port side that got me.

But seriously, that's a very popular dive site. Love to hear about it.

 

[Darth]

In that pic too, so weird seeing it above sea level, the eel was just to the starboard side of that front tower, and the ugly lion was to the port of the rear ball/tower thing in an enclosure.

And when I was in the dive shop in Key West, they sold me a badge that they only sell to Vandenberg divers.

She's at about 105" now to the deck. She's still a beaut.

 

[Deplorable Me]

She was called a "range instrumentation tracking ship". The radars used microwaves and could pick off anything that cleared the horizon that could orbit the earth. You could not go on most of the decks when they operated or you'd get cooked. You had to be shielded by at least one deck house. We collected telemetry data for USAF/USN/DOD. Owned by USN but crewed by Military Sealift Command who I worked for as a civilian electrician.

She was a globe trotter and worked all over the world.

USN would launch Polaris missles off Nova Scotia and we'd sit off the Bermuda Islands collecting data on the MIRV delivery systems as they came down. Spooky seeing unarmed nucs inbound and close enough to vaporize you if live. We were in an arms race with Ivan at that time. We'd then dispatch navy divers to recover or sink anything that floated after impact.

On another mission we sat 100 miles down range and tracked the solid fuel boosters from the space shuttles in the early years. At 100 miles you could see the propulsion flames and hear the engine. We directed NASA recovery tugs to the exact location so they could pick up the boosters. I'm pretty sure that was the maiden voyage of the shuttle "Columbia" which exploded on a later mission.

Otherwise we'd travel east into the Atlantic and collect loads of data on satellites traveling overhead.

Prior to my signing on she was in the deep south Atlantic and even sailed to Diego Garcia for work. Other missions, other crews.

 

[Deplorable Me]

The main radars are not typical of ships or airports. They kill any birds who roost on decks during usage. We'd fire up a dedicated 480volt 1600amp AC steam turbine generator just to power them during ops.

Now imagine the technology changes between the early 80's and today.

 

[Podmonkey]

Facinating stuff! And aren't Lionfish spines super toxic?

 

[NirvanaFan]

Facinating stuff! And aren't Lionfish spines super toxic?

It's like getting stung by a bee or jellyfish. Not gonna kill. I guess you could possibly be allergic though.

 

[Criticalt]

Ive swam with plenty in Florida. They are like the skunks of the sea. They have no fear because they know they have toxic defense.
I have not eaten them but also heard they are delicious but not much meat, you need half a dozen for a good meal.