First Lionfish Kill Day 8

On the whole, today was a very interesting day.  It started like any normal day with a hearty breakfast and boat packing.  On the way out, we saw a number of live aboard boats anchored at sites near Deal Point.  Our first site today was a high density site where I was responsible for counting, sizing, and mapping all the lionfish on the reef.  This was a first time I have ever mapped a reef underwater and you could tell based on my drawing.  It was a bit non-descript for my taste but considering the time I had to draw it, the map turned out ok.  The strangeness of the day began with our anchor getting stuck on a random patch reef.  We attempt to anchor everyday so that we bury it in the sand as opposed to hooking the reef and causing structural damage.  Despite our best efforts, we could not unhook the anchor from the surface so we had to put our gear back on to move it underwater.  When we got to the patch reef, we were surprised to see that the anchor was not stuck at all.  Instead the rope had wrapped itself around the patch in such a way that the anchor was just laying on top of the reef.  Very strange indeed. 

                        

The next site we went to was the paired low lionfish density reef.  While Tye once again mapped and setup her ledges for her basslet experiment, I was tasked with removing any and all lionfish from the reef with hand nets or spearing.  This site compared to the earlier high lionfish density reef has much more structure in the

form of overhangs and caves which made the task of finding lionfish much more challenging and time consuming.  The first lionfish I saw was in front of a small cave that was near a hole that a spotted moray calls home (pictured here).  When I tried to catch it with the nets, the lionfish scurried into the hole and I had to leave it for later.  As I continued to search, I found a tunnel where there were 3 lionfish hanging out.  I tried to catch the biggest one first but it was pretty fast and swam away.  I then turned my attention to the other two.  I wrangled one into the nets and then into the dry bag where they are stored.  We use dry bags underwater to hold them because they provide the easiest way to seal and transport them around the reef and back to the boat.  This success was quickly followed by another as I caught the second lionfish.  Putting them both into the same bag was a task.  I had to seal the first one in the bottom of the bag by pressing my pole spear down across the bag to trap the lionfish.  Next, I slipped the two nets with the second lionfish into the bag and pulled away the pole spear as I pushed the nets further inside.  Once at the bottom, I took one of the nets away to release the lionfish in the bag while at the same time keeping the other lionfish at the bottom.  It is a bit of a challenge to deal with these fish while trying not to get stung but I feel much more confident after today. 

                        

After bagging two lionfish the hunt began for the third and biggest lionfish.  I quickly found it cruising around at the other end of the tunnel and I put myself into position to spear it.  I cocked it in my hand, held the tips right up next to the lionfish, and “pop” got it in the side near the gills.  I was amazed how the lionfish was still alive despite being completely impaled like it was.  It tried to swim off the tips but it could not no matter how hard it tried.  I took this lionfish off the reef so that any sharks or groupers in the area could have a nice lionfish meal in peace and away from us divers.  Before I could leave it there though, I had to make sure it was dead or nearly dead.  To do this, I took the handle of my net and pushed it down hard through the gills.  A cloud of green blood (yes it looks green underwater) plumed from the gills but the fish was somehow still alive.  To put it out of its misery, I finished it off by pulling out the spear tips and thrusting them back through the head one more time as I held it down.  My first kill of the season was then complete.  I must say that it was quite a brutal experience and I plan to improve as the summer progresses so that I can more consistently land instant kill shots to put them out of their misery.  Apparently the best way to do this is to pierce their spinal cord (which is difficult and requires a great deal of accuracy).  All this excitement caused me to suck down more air than usual and I had to head up for my safety stop early while Tye finished her work. 

                        

Once I handed the lionfish I caught and my gear up on the boat, I pulled myself over the side as I usually do to get back on the boat.  Immediately after getting on board, I felt this dull ache and weakness in my forearm muscle.  I took off the top half of my wetsuit to see if the sensation would go away but it persisted.  This is when the day became really strange.  One of the symptoms of decompression sickness (nitrogen gas buildup in your tissues that causes bubbles to form ) is muscle weakness and fatigue.  Tye and I waited out our surface interval to see if the sensation (which felt much like the previously described fatigue) would subside after some time.  After about an hour, the ache was still there and I decided to call the day just to be safe.  It turns out that it was most likely just a muscle strain in my forearm from doing something funny with it.  I was relieved to hear this from a few different people and was able to relax a little.  The anchor and possible decompression sickness situations sure made today memorable.  Hopefully I don’t have to deal with either of these situations again for the rest of the summer.  It is getting late now and I should head to bed to get more rest for the long day ahead tomorrow (we need to catch up from today’s lost productivity).  Until later.