5 replies to this topic

[rc6750]

http://content.govde...lletins/101bcb5

 

 

[littlen]

I'm glad the FWC has organized and started a public awareness campaign to bring additional attention to lionfish where folks can go out and actively help remove the fish.  Groups like R.E.E.F. have been setting up lionfish derbies for years to reduce numbers. http://www.reef.org/lionfish.   I don't like killing for sport, but there is a rewarding feeling to be had when you spear a bunch of lionfish while diving.

Thanks for sharing the link.

[Michael Wolfe]

you dont have to kill them just for sport... they are plenty tastey (or so I hear)

[littlen]

Actually, they are.  I am not a seafood/fish consumer, but have eaten a few Lionfish filet in the last several years.  Very light and flaky.  Of course they self-seasoned to taste like the juvenile grouper and snapper they eat.  The spines make particularly good toothpicks (seriously) once dried in the sun or baked in the over and the venom denatures.

The very best, and sad, part of catching them is to see what all they have eaten.  A colleague of mine who has probably dove the Caribbean 1,000 times has never seen a living seahorse.......but did find one in the gut of a lionfish.     

[Mysteryman]

Lions do carry Ciguatera, unfortunately. That's a huge shame, too, considering their tasty flavor.

[rc6750]

Update - http://content.govde...lletins/105226c

 

 

          “The inaugural Lionfish Awareness and Removal Day was a success,” said Harvey. “Well over 1,000 lionfish were speared statewide. At the Pensacola festival, local chefs did a great job demonstrating how to prepare and cook lionfish. Everyone seemed to enjoy tasting them.”