With everything going on in our fisheries you’d be excused if you’ve lost focus on one of the most significant dangers to their health and well
being. Lionfish, Old Salt is encouraging Florida angler to resolve to catch and eat this tasty and invasive fish.
From a recent scholarly article at phys.org:
“As the old saying goes: “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”
Nowhere is this more evident than with the spread of lionfish, an invasive, non-native species that is threatening the marine ecosystems across the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean.”
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-02-lionfish-gulf-mexico-threat-reef.html#jCp
Florida’s west coast, where Old Salt is headquartered, is particularly hard hit. And, while we cannot put the genie back in the bottle we can fight to mitigate the damage this invasive species causes by catching & eating our way to success.
Lionfish are delicious and even if you didn’t catch any on your day on the water they are showing up more and more in the fresh fish case at retailers across the area. The many ways to prepare this fish are hunger inspiring.
Some of the current favorites in our circle of friends may be found in the Lionfish Cookbook by authors Tricia Ferguson and Lad Akins and offered by the folk at reef.org. So, get out there. Catch or purchase to buy lionfish at least once a month and “Eat ‘Em To Beat ‘Em”
Lionfish Links of Interest
Lionfish Invasion Program at Reef.org
Lionfish: eat ’em to beat ’em at Infobonaire.com
Lionfish Invasion at sailorsofthesea.org
Can you do a brief article about how to handle and clean lionfish? Often my kids or novices are on the boat I am wary about bringing lionfish aboard.