The great mighty lobster hunters

Wednesday January 5, 2010

Now that the east winds have settled we head out to the reefs along the Exuma Sound to hunt lobster with our friends Ed & Marge from the Margaret Lee. Our first stop yields nothing so we swim back to the dinghy and motor to another spot. Spear guns and scuba tanks are not allowed when you spearfish. You must free dive and hold your breath down to about 20 - 30 and look under the ledges in the coral to find lobsters. Sometimes all you see is their long tentacles moving and when you do you use your hand spear which is 7 feet long with an elastic band to launch the spear into the lobster. Sometime it takes 2, 3 or even 4 tries to nab the lobster because you need to come back to the surface for more air. If you’re lucky you get him on the first shot. Then you must get the lobster above the water fast or risk having a barracuda snatch your catch.  We have learned that the barracuda is really not very interested in us but rather is lazy and looks for an easy lunch after we have done all the work. The swim back to the dinghy is tiring while holding the spear in the air but it is well worth the effort. Today our efforts yield our first lobster which is 5 ½ pounds. Spiny or Caribbean lobsters as they are known have no front claws but their large tail is delicious especially when done on the BBQ. The best time to spearfish is early in the morning when the lobster are still walking around or looking for a hole to hid in for the day. The early bird does catch the lobster. On Saturday  January 8^th we are out on the reef by 7:00 just after the sun has risen and we are rewarded with another lobster. This time Ted missed his first shot, then I go down and miss and Ted tries again and misses. The lobster then emerges from his hole looking for another place to hide. I got down to grab him by hand but I run out of air and come back up. Ted finally goes down to the new hiding place and gets the critter.  Our team effort means we’ll be eating lobster tonight. We keep looking but spot no more lobster. I do however spot a Lion fish but when I go to spear it I notice a barracuda nearby. I decide not to spear the fish but rather keep an eye on it. I swim over to Ted and signal to him to follow me. By then the barracuda has disappeared and Ted successfully spear the Lion fish. Lion fish have poisonous spines on the top of their backs but properly cleaned they are safe and delicious to eat. They are not native to the Bahamas and infact Lion fish were not here the last time we visited the Bahamas. They have no natural predictors and have been taking over the reefs and eating their share of reef fish quickly multiplying and depleting the reef.  The Bahamians have issued an open season on Lion fish and in some areas of the Bahamas they have had tournaments where they have caught 6000 to 10000 of them and also taught people who to safely clean them. Once back to the boat we call Margaret Lee to provide us with detailed instruction on how to clean them. And yes they are indeed a white, mild delicate fish. We look forward to catching more. The good news is that in two outings we have only seen two Lion fish on the reefs so they appear to be under control at least here for the time being.