Word around town is that the Lionfish may be causing great harm reef ecosystems because it's right up there as a top competitor for food.
Scientists are afraid that the lionfish will also kill off helpful species, such as algae-eating parrotfish, allowing seaweed to overtake the reefs.
It's expected that in the United States, the lionfish population, inhabiting the coast from North Carolina to South Florida, will greatly increase.
Lionfish are at the top of the ladder, with no known predators and they reproduce all year long long with two million eggs a year.
So what can be done?
NOAA scientists would like you to become their predator, and eat them.
Once you get passed all the venomous spines,we are told the lionfish is a delicious meal, at least that's what NOAA scientists are saying.
To promote awareness of the lionfish as a good mate for one’s dinner plate, scientists developed the “Eat Lionfish” Campaign.
With all the promotion hoopla, we are told that the Lionfish is fast becoming the new culinary craze of Bahamian delicacies.
That may or may not be spin-speak but “People are opening up to eating lionfish and are realizing that they are not a health threat,” said Lakeshia Anderson, Assistant Fisheries Officer at the Department of Fisheries. “Once you cook it, the venom is not longer present.”
The Department of Fisheries took the lionfish show on the road to Potter’s Cay where fishermen and food vendors were shown how to safely handle, clean and cook lionfish.
The Department of Fisheries took the lionfish show on the road to Potter’s Cay where fishermen and food vendors were shown how to safely handle, clean and cook lionfish.
How did the taste test go?
Bahamians were expecting something a little different, more bizarre, instead they compared lionfish meat to hogfish, grouper and even snapper.
