Lionfish: You have to eat them to beat them

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Frying, searing or grilling is the best way to combat one invasive species that has gone from saltwater aquariums to establish colonies in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico from Venezuela to the Carolinas, Florida officials say.

In the past 25 years, lionfish brought to this country from the western Pacific and Indian oceans as pets have begun to pose a significant threat to native fish and shrimp. The carnivorous fish's spikes are poisonous, and nothing in the Atlantic or Caribbean has decided they make a good meal.

But a lionfish's white flesh is mild tasting — and humans can get past the spikes in ways that other animals without opposable thumbs cannot.

"The venom is only in the spines and all traces of it are destroyed in the cooking process," said Chris Sherrill, a chef at Flora-Bama Restaurant in Perdido Key, Fla. "The fish lends itself to any way you want to cook it. Everyone here who has tried it has loved it."

Lionfish are notoriously hard to catch with hook and line. Divers have had great success with spear hunting the fish, but the harvest is labor intensive.

"We can't catch snapper anymore, and grouper seasons are becoming more restrictive," said Andy Fish of Merritt Island, Fla., who has been a commercial diver for 30 years. "We see them on every dive, on every spot. They're everywhere. And now, the price is starting to get right. And they taste good."

Fish supplied Grill's Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar here with more than 200 pounds of the spiny creatures last week, averaging a pound each. Grill's owner, Joe Penovich, and general manager, Chris Herrnkind, decided it was time to put them on the menu.

"We're serving the fish fried whole, like you would a yellowtail snapper, but finish it under a broiler with a Teriyaki glaze," Herrnkind said. "The response has been tremendous."

Last week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission designated the Saturday following Mother's Day each year as Florida Lionfish Awareness and Removal Day. This year, that's May 16.

In the wild, lionfish can live 15 or 16 years and weigh about 2½ pounds. A female lionfish releases 12,000 to 15,000 eggs per spawn and can spawn every four days in warmer climates, a year, according to the commission.

Researchers have determined that a single lionfish can reduce juvenile fish populations by as much as 80% in just five weeks and 94% in eight weeks. Many scientists believe the reason lionfish hunt so successfully is because Atlantic and Gulf fish aren't conditioned to recognize them as a threat.

After being fertilized, lionfish eggs hatch in two days.

Recreational divers also are beginning to hunt lionfish. The fish's abundance and lack of fear make it a perfect target.

"They're pretty easy to shoot," Fish said. He recommends a pole spear equipped with a paralyzer tip, puncture-proof gloves and sturdy shears.

The fish's elongated dorsal spines are venomous and deliver a powerful sting. Once on a spear, trimming the spines to render them harmless is easy.

But it's also a good idea to have a puncture-proof container on hand to haul them in.

Lionfish are becoming popular in markets and restaurants along the Eastern Seaboard, according to Jim Busse, owner of Seafood Atlantic at Port Canaveral.

"We deal in a couple hundred pounds a week," Busse said. "The quality is exceptional. I just wish the state was doing more to address the lionfish problem. Right now, they're just taking small bites out of a bigger problem."

He pays fishermen $4 to $4.50 a pound for their catch.

Robert Turpin, said Robert Turpin, manager of the Escambia County Marine Resources Division, recommends we eat lionfish now by choice, rather than later by necessity.

"We don't want to lose any of our other harvested species," he said. "Otherwise we could be eating just lionfish instead of the red snapper, triggerfish, amberjack and grouper that we love."

Contributing: Kevin Robinson, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal.