Lionfish Invasion: If You Can't Beat Them, Eat Them Ted Lund - USA Today
go to original April 15, 2015

Going green? Eat Lionfish (Associated Press)

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."

Read the rest at USA Today

Photo: Reef.org

Related: Lionfish Jewelry: A Market Solution to an Invasive Species (Triple Pundit)

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