I am an avid lionfish hunter myself. But I once took a sub to 200 meters. The first 40 meters of depth (scuba diving depths) there were almost no lionfish. From 40-100 meters they were everywhere, giants. What we catch as scuba divers at allowed depths, is just literally the tip of the iceberg. Sadly. I even saw lionfish swim in total darkness at 150 meters...

observing the behavior of the triggerfish it looked like it was targeting the head and avoiding the backside of the lionfish, this suggest this triggerfish has experience and knows what it's doing and has eaten lionfish before.

Normally it would probably be bad to make wild animals associate humans with free food, but in this case it serves to only feed them lion fish that they would eventually learn to hunt and eat on their own. A good way to get more help in curbing lionfish populations

Training local fauna to prey on lionfish is a very smart and sustainable move. We will not always be down there to hunt and remove them. We have limited time and resources, and can only sweep so far per dive. Putting lionfish in the menu is working, but will take more time and change in consumer behavior. Explore all the avenues that we can, because being passive/reactive about this only gives lionfish more opportunities to penetrate deeper and take over.

As nothingbutstatic said, triggerfish commonly eat urchins by breaking off spines and flipping them over, including the venomous long-spined urchin Diadema. Resemblance of lion fish to urchins probably helps. Not sure if the other fish are ok with the spines. It would be great to know if particular sharks and groupers will come back at eat them again after eating one. My opinion: keep feeding lion fish to other predators.

People downplay how smart these massive fish are. Yeah maybe not as smart as a mammal, but they absolutely communicate and observe foreign things in their environment. They normally dont go after them, not because they don't associate them with food but rather because it poses an unknown risk to potential predators who are much too picky to take the chance. Once fish get a taste for something they'll never forget it

I Always thought hey ate lion fish. Had a trigger and lionfish in a tank once and the trigger ate the lion first picking off all the spines then eating it.

The other fish can tell that the lionfish is injured and when something gets injured in the ocean, it’s basically food for everyone else

Teaching local species of fish to eat lionfish is the only way to get this problem under control imo.

Our lionfish are quite rare, and they are eaten by both sharks and our giant Javanese Moray eels. These are resident in Mauritius. Both have poisoned flesh as a result and are not eaten locally

Dude you’re like the underwater “I got candy in my van” man but for sharks, and somehow that’s a good (and hilarious) thing 😂😂😂😂

Trigger fish, IIRC, deal with similar "thorny" customers, all the time. So, they know how deal with and consume prickly subjects. The issue with other predators is they don't know be wary of way/direction they consume the Lionfish. (Note: that Grouper tried eat it from the side and thus went, "Yuck/Owww, Patooey!" With it. Eaten from the front, they have no issue that I've either seen or heard about?)

They weren't debating about killing rats during a plague...

When he told the grouper at 0:47 it was too small I absolutely died XD

The thing is that in order to teach the predators how to hunt lionfish, you have to actually introduce them first. They won't know they're edible if you don't give the lionfish to them to taste.

I find it so bizzare when saying 2017, followed by "back then"... In my head I'm like, that wasn't that doesn't feel like 7 years ago. Time is moving too fast.

The Queen Trigger, my favorite aquarium pet I've ever had. They are voracious eaters. The one in this video is huge. Thanks so much for this video it's been a long time since I've seen one!

„The triggerfish is so beautiful“ It has a face only a mother could love lmao

Assume you already know triggerfish feed on other spiny venomous creatures like the queen of thorns starfish and urchins, so if any predator is going to figure out how to get past the lionfish's defenses, triggerfish already have some of the skills

I think all of this is excellent, both with the sharks and with the triggerfish. Perhaps that grouper was a better too small or got some spine from the speared lionfish. Fish are turning out to be smarter than we knew and there are an increasing number of examples of different species, even different phyla (like gobies and shrimp) working together for safety or hunting. Like with ravens - which can find carcasses they cannot open - transferring their cooperative behavior from wolves to human hunters, these fish are highly motivated to learn a new behavior that gets them food.

I feel like we wouldn't bat an eye if fish were taking the dead lionfish from another animal. I think as long as the predators aren't associating humans as food, or becoming dependent on humans for food, I don't see why anyone should worry. In the end if some of the higher level predators start associating the lionfish as a food source it will help the reefs in the long term. I don't normally advocate killing an animal for no reason and honestly it's not the lionfishes fault it is there, it's humans fault, but they do so much damage to the reef they can't be left alone. I feel bad for the thousands upon thousands of lionfish killed but it's less of a threat then to lose the entire reef's ecosystem.

I understand the reluctance by many to "encourage" spear fishing divers to feed the non-native Lionfish to various native fish species. The worry here being behavioral alteration in the fish in the form of habituation. Most wildlife scientists would discourage this activity because individual fish may then associate "food" to "diver," altering the fish's behaviour around other humans coming into that environment. Loss of natural fear of humans may then result in injury or death at the hands of unscrupulous humans who would then bait habituated fish closer in for an easy kill (because humans just can't resist cheating). I did have a concern that fish attempting to eat the lionfish might be accidentally injected by a venomous spine in the first attempts to take the Lionfish from the divers. There is, as the narrator alludes, a learning curve for native species to learn how to successfully kill and then disarm non-native species like Lionfish. My own observations with Great blue heron catching, repositioning, and breaking the venomous spines off Plecostemus before consuming the fish might be insightful here. I'm not convinced that spear fishing divers are actually teaching native fish to hunt and consume Lionfish simply by offering them dead Lionfish to eat. Rather, I suspect that, at least initially, it's just limited to habituation of the fish chosing to respond to a food cue. Clearly, an experiment is required to tease out whether this hypothesis can be supported or debunked, with replication necessary for a definitive answer. Anyone game for that?

Excellent educational video.

May I ask: how come the poisonous needles/spines from the lionfish have NO effect on the bigger fish? Thank U.

We can't answer your question. What happened to the grouper did the spiks injure it? The trigger fish nibbled at the exposed flesh could it eat a live lion fish defending itself? Have they started discouraging people feeding them to sharks because they die.(Years ago that might have been thought of as a bonos). A fish will always investigate a potencial meal but they don't know the danger an invasive fish offers.

Hi I think it’s great teaching these fish that they can actually eat the lion fish since it’s an invasive species , then they can help defend the reef against the lion fish 🙂👍❤️🇦🇺

Since lion fish are apparently good eating, it might be worth trying to push for a bounty program at a level that encourages commercial diving and harvesting operations. Take the pressure off other species commonly targeted for the dinner table.

I just got basic PADI certified, and my first couple of dives were AMAZING! I’d really like to get lion fish certified and go on some hunting dives

Do we follow the groupers and sharks to make sure eating the lionfish doesn't harm them later?

Very interesting. Educational on all levels.

Great video

I dont think its a problem, its not like there are enough divers to support the fish and it just shows them a new food source, fish are smarter then people realize. Trigger fish are actually quite capable of learning and if it realizes it can catch lionfish it might start going for them, they can be surprisingly predatory.

Doesn't surprise me, a Trigger will eat anything..... seriously though, one of almost all species of Triggerfish favorite things to eat are sea urchins, which have lots of spines... I would guess that it is associated the spines of the lion fish with the spines on an urchin

I still find it fascinating that an animal can be protected and endangered in one area and actively hunted in another. I understand why, still, i find it fascinating thiugh.

Looks like its Pterois Volitans Lionfish we are seeing. That was either a pretty small lionfish or a huge trigger.

Does the spines hurt them

As long as it does not involve the introduction of another invasive species to combat the Lionfish I do not object.

Could be running out of decent food to catch, so maybe it is taking advantage of the spear fishing. Also, many people think fish stay in one location forever, it is possible this trigger fish hunts along the coast and stays near fishermen and divers for this reason? Maybe even had a diver feed it once, so it learned the tiger fish is eatable and remembers the divers give out free easy meals.

when sharks eat up a lionfish, do they ever get stuck by the barbs internally?

Is the shark and fish immune to the lion fish poison?

Don't they get hurt by the poison barbs ?

The trigger fish is very territorial, it can even kill the most venomous starfish, the queen of thorns

isnt it obvious the grouper tried eating it whole, the lion fish has spines aint gunna work so well is it

Eventually the other fish will realize/learn to eat the lionfish. They just need time. Nature has a way of self-balancing.

does the shark and other fish not react to the venom from the lionfish?

i dont think its a problem, you help animals to adapt to a new threat, there is no problem with that.

Triggerfish in general just doesn't give a *hit. There's not many other fish that'll mess around with a Trigger.

You say this is a controversal practice, but you don't say why. Maybe you could explain a bit more about who frowns on it and why

Is the consensus not to feed the fish now?

Familiarity dulls the fear. The more they see them the less they fear them and see them as a food they should learn to predate.

The grouper won't, eat it because it would have to eat the poisonous barbs when it swallows it whole, but the trigger fish can just rip it apart and avoid the barbs

it’s freeding frenzy all over again

Avid lionfish hunter here. It’s not a good idea to feed wildlife. From eels to snappers, groupers and sharks that all of the sudden only follow divers, to more stressful scenarios where you have to stop hunting because there’s a problem from these practices. Today, even Florida salt water anglers that take tourists out fishing are reporting incidence in sharks and other larger pelagic fish attacking a fish on the line while the angler attempts to land the fish. The norm now is for a portion of the fish to have a chunk eaten off already before it’s out of the water. This isn’t normal behavior and it’s likely a result of a learned behavior associated with feeding. Just one example of why experts are correct when they recommend not feeding wildlife. My 2 cents. Cheers!!!

Could it be that they know that the lion fish is dead and therefore being exposed itself to getting stung?

Doesn't it has poisonous spikes? I don't think it's a good idea

I always thought trigger fish just chewed on corral

Astounding to see that sharks and queen triggerfish are able to eat lionfish without consequences of the venom.

I've fed sea urchins to fish skin diving in Jamaica & Grenada the people in soubise eat the sea urchins roasted & call it sea eggs

I haven't seen trout in Walmart for a long time. If the Lion fish tastes anything like trout I'm in.

Those spines are a deterrent even after being speared.

This is not controversial at all, the lionfish is an invasive species in the Atlantic ocean and can we get sharks, groupers, triggerfish or any other native predator to see them as food so much the better, because the lionfish is destroying the fry/small species of native coral fish at an alarming rate and fish are better and more efficient hunters both considering time, money than divers ofc it is good with the divers too but that is a losing battle since lionfish reproduce much faster than all of the professional divers put together.

Seems like Lion Fish are always shown as an invasive species, so where exactly are they native from?

I always thought groupers were the most intelligent fish. I’ve seen groupers hunt and corner lion fish. Surprised you see this behavior on a trigger fish. It is even aware of its spines. Amazing

From personal experience, enuring sharks, or any other potentially aggressive fish, to take lionfish from a spear can have rather stark unintended consequences… My teammates and I hunt lionfish regularly, at depths between 40 and 60 meters, racking up significant decompression obligations. At one point a few years back, we had to abandon a favourite hunting spot as we were being harassed, constantly, by a 2m nurse shark that we believe had learned to associate not only divers, but yellow pole spears too, with free meals. Fending off it’s continual advances for 40 minutes grew not only tiresome, but put the team at risk of violating the decompression schedule. That is a dangerous situation… We’ve recently had a few divers have unnerving encounters with sizeable free swimming green morays seemingly looking for handouts… Again, no bueno… I am of them mind that divers should lookout for the reef ecosystem by hunting as many lionfish as possible, but please do so in a responsible way and take your haul home to eat… They are great for ceviche and make really nice fish-n-chips!

Triggerfish is general are just very opportunistic feeders and will eat just about anything that looks like an easy meal.

But aren't lionfish venomous? Is it safe to feed it to other fish?

pestification of life on full display

What controversy? It is invasive with no known enemies. Teach the sharks and anything else that will irradicate the threat.

The problem is all those fish will come to unsuspecting divers begging for foods, some of them can be aggressive

Good idea to get rid of an invasive species.

Corral crunchers may have enough armor on their mouth.

Perhaps the trigger fish saw an oppotunity for revenge, knowing that the lion fish is a predator.

Looks more like the triggers were mostly just being territorial.

Had a friend that had a lionfish and a parrot fish in the same tank. The parrot ate the lion.

Don't lionfish have poisonous barbs along their spine?

I feel like the difference in the way the triggerfish and grouper eat their food has a lot to do with why one ate it and the other did not. Triggerfish have enough teeth and a small enough mouth that allows them to peck and take small niblets at a time. This combined with the fact that it can probably detect the fish is now dead and spines disarmed, it has no problem going after it. However, you can still see it swimming backwards sometimes to still keep the spines at bay and have access to the meaty bits. Like it still knows it's a threat, just not a live one. The grouper doesn't have the teeth necessary to take those small niblets, if I'm not mistaken it's basically a vacuum eater and has a handful of teeth to hold onto the fish, but not chunk bits off. So to the grouper, those spines attached to the carcass still pose a huge threat. That's my take on it anyways :). Solid footage though, that Triggerfish is beautiful.

Second dive vid from Cuba ive seen in the past week or so. Maybe it's a sign 😂

Why don't you think the trigger fish could reasonably be expected to associate you, a large mammal, with access to feed? Time aside, the fish's brain could recognize a behavioral scheme of predation anyway, and would not even need to know anything about you necessarily to see the lionfish is incapacitated anyway.

How do you protect the predatory fish from the venomous spines? Aren’t they still venomous even when the lion fish is freshly killed? I know I would never trust anyone who offered me a salad made of fresh cut stinging nettles.

Would next crisis be Lionfish extinction crisis? once other fish learn that it is ok to eat lionfish

Fish are learning divers = slot machines with high payout. They are eatting what the divers give them, because they see them as safe, like how when a aquarium fish learns you, they always swim to the glass when they see you because they know its time for feeding. Eventually they will learn to eat the lionfish naturally, but its most definitely due to the divers influence. But in reef tanks, one of the most annoying thing is getting your fish to eat what you want them to eat. Sometimes it happens over time with routine, other times the fish will die before it eats something its not native to. This is why most of us quarintine the fish not just for observation, but to also start training it to eat the foods you want them to eat. As for is it OK? absolutely... There is no otherway to get rid of an invasive species other then using a natual species to hunt it out of exinction before the other members of the ecosystem falls off due to it.

Coooooool V interesting

I think this is awesome lionfish are an vase of species and this is all the humans fault. We need to train other animals to eat them. So we can protect the ecosystem with other fish on the hunt.

Setting up exotic table for native fish serves Gaia right.

You can't have human divers to all the work. It would be better if local predators can help keep the lionfish population under control.

I really don't see how this could be controversial!

The invasive fish needs to be kept under control. The idea that it might be a bad habit to form looking for food from humans, but the lionfish is a human-related problem too. That triggerfish was beautiful.

Knowledge is power teach the fish

okay slayqueen triggerfish purr 💅

Are those sharks going to regret eating that?

I'm originally from Florida, so yes and no. It's acceptable for Trigger fish to be habituated to eating lionfish. Trigger fish have strong sharp human-like teeth, and can easily tear up lionfish. Trigger fish seem to be resistant to lionfish fin venom also. So as long as the reef fish are resistant or immune to lionfish fin venom, then habituating them to eat lionfish is a good thing. Sharks, not so much. It would be better if sharks naturally learned to eat lionfish. When divers feed fish to sharks, the sharks tend to habituate, to being fed by the divers, and see divers and swimmers as food sources. So avoid feeding lionfish to sharks and barracuda on spears. Spear the lionfish, expelled the lionfish from the spear, and let it float. Let the predatory fish choose the wounded or dead lionfish naturally... don't fed it to them on the spear.

Yes it is acceptable!!!!

What the hell what about the spines

Before this video the only fish I saw eat a lionfish was a grouper

if they are invasive i see no problem with either keeping it or feeding other fish on the reef with it. If you teach the other reef fish to eat the lionfish then maybe it will lessen their numbers and they wouldnt be such an issue.

That fish was so easily triggered.

Team effort,

Crabs and other scavengers will eat the scraps or even the intact dead lionfish.

In theory bad but in this case more than ok (imo)

I find it acceptable. The invasive lionfish are destroying echosystems. Because of humans, lionfish ended up there. So why wouldnt we try to fix it? All these animals have brains, sharks are super smart, they are allowed to learn from us. Does it make it unsafe for future divers? Hmmmmmm my theory is, when you enter the ocean, you enter the foodchain. As a diver, you need to be prepared regardless. Do your good work