New Years Eve Paddling and Snorkeling

This is a consolidated video of my adventure with Roger in which we paddled our snorkeling and diving gear down the canal, moored the kayaks, and splashed into the Atlantic in search of the Lionfish who made his home in Roger’s canal. We eventually located the Lionfish, captured it, and humanely killed the animal. I filmed the experience with my new GoPro HERO3 Silver camera in 720p HD 60fps.

For those that don’t know, Lionfish are an invasive species of fish that are destroying the reef ecosystems in the Florida keys and Caribbean waters. They are beautiful fish but have no natural predators in this area – sharks won’t even eat them for fear of the venomous spines which line their fins. There have been several groups formed in conjunction with the Florida FWC, The Reef Foundation, and NOAA to address the issue. Roger and I have both received specialized training on how to capture and dispose of Lionfish, as well as obtained the required permits to net the fish in the nationally protected waters. Please don’t do this unless you have received training and the permits.

I truly don’t like to kill any animal except for food, but I have seen the destruction this fish has caused to our reefs over the past ten years, and I now believe that human intervention is necessary to preserve this beautiful ecosystem.