PORT ST. JOE — How can the population of invasive lionfish be controlled? One way is to eat them.
Members of the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently spoke to locals about the lionfish invasion affecting area waters and presented an idea on how to stop it — by eating them.
The meeting was part of the Sci-Café program, a free public gathering focused on bringing people together in a relaxed environment for food, science and conversation.
The latest meeting was at Sunset Coastal Grill in Port St. Joe, where Margo Posten, an Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve employee; Meaghan Faletti, a member of the FWC’s lionfish control action team; Grayson Shepard, an Apalachicola fishing guide; and Jay Kannuct, a diver, shared their experiences.
More than 40 attendees made up of fishing guides, commercial and recreational fishermen, divers and concerned citizens attended the presentation.
“At each Sci-Café, we pick a topic that might be educational and find experts to speak on the subject and bring everyone together in a relaxed area like a restaurant,” Posten said.
“This topic is a big issue. The lionfish are an invasive species, and organizations are spending millions of dollars in eradication and control programs.”
What are they?
Pterois, also known as lionfish, is a genus of venomous marine fish native to the Indo-Pacific.
Lionfish, which can live anywhere from 5 feet to 1,000 feet underwater, are also known as zebrafish, firefish, turkeyfish or butterfly-cod and are characterized by red, white or black bands, showy pectoral fins and venomous, spiky fin rays.
The first lionfish sighting in the Atlantic was in the 1980s, but the fish has spread throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. With virtually no predators, the species has devastated marine habitats by changing the natural balance of ecosystems.
Lionfish are known for their venomous fin rays, an uncommon feature among marine fish in the East Coast coral reefs. The venom makes lionfish excellent predators and venomous to fishermen and divers. Venom can cause extreme pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and breathing difficulties.
Lionfish aren’t picky eaters, and locally, bait fish are being consumed at a rapid pace.
According to Posten, lionfish can lay up to 30,000 eggs every three to four days. Rather than stay fixed to the ocean floor, the egg sacs float to the surface and ride the currents, releasing lionfish into even more areas.
“The lionfish are pretty flexible and can survive in most habitats,” Posten said. “Invasive species are a terrible thing, and they have the potential to change our current fisheries permanently.
“Lionfish are a big deal, but this is a real tasty fish.”
During the Sci-Café presentation, experts shared information about the lionfish’s biology and population stats and opened up the floor to a question and answer session with the audience.
Posten and her group of experts agreed that the best way to control the lionfish population is to make a fishery out of it.
While Posten stressed the dangers of the fish, she said many people find them to be delicious. Samples were served to guests at the event, and Faletti showed how to safely handle and clean them.
Shepard, who brought the samples, had recently been stuck by a lionfish fin and shared his firsthand experience on how to avoid getting hurt and how to administer first aid if needed.