On Eating Lionfish

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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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From today's Sosua News:

[h=5]For some time now the lionfish is regularly spotted on the coasts of Puerto Plata at the coral reefs. The lionfish (Pterois volitans) belongs to the family of the scorpion fish. The lionfish lives on the reefs and measures about 40 centimeters. The natural habitat ranges from East Africa through Indonesia and Japan to Australia. Probably these lionfish are descendants of the six lionfish which escaped from a destroyed tank in Miami during Hurricane Andrew in the early 90s. The fish hunts at night on small fish, mussels, shrimp and crabs. At daytime lionfish hid in crevices, under rocks or coral formations. Because lionfish do not have any natural enemies in the Caribbean they threaten in a the large-scale the resources.[/h]
[h=5]In fact, they eat everything. The government calls on the professional fishermen to hunt intense on these harmful species. Since then we also see that the lionfish is a specialty on the menu of many restaurants. It seems a very tasty fish which tastes a bit like cod.[/h]
 
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CFA123

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May 29, 2004
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Uhm, they're leaving out some critical info...

[h=3]Hazard to humans[/h]Lionfish are known for their venomous fin rays, a feature that is uncommon among marine fish in the East Coast coral reefs. The potency of their venom makes them excellent predators and poisonous to fishermen and divers.[2] Pterois venom produced negative inotropic and chronotropic effects when tested in both frog and clam hearts[20] and has a depressing effect on rabbit blood pressure.[21] These results are thought to be due to nitric oxide release.[7] In humans, Pterois venom can cause systemic effects such as extreme pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, breathing difficulties, convulsions, dizziness, redness on the affected area, headache, numbness, paresthesia (pins and needles) and sweating. Rarely, such stings can cause temporary paralysis of the limbs, heart failure and even death. Fatalities are commonly in very young children, the elderly, those with a weak immune system or those who are allergic to their venom. However, their venom is rarely fatal to healthy humans. But some species have enough venom to produce extreme discomfort for over a period of several days. However, Pterois venom can provide a danger to allergic victims because some victims may experience anaphylaxis which is a serious and often life threatening allergic reaction that requires immediate emergency medical treatment. Severe allergic reactions to Pterois venom are usually chest pain, severe breathing difficulties, a drop in blood pressure, swelling of the tongue, sweating, runny nose, or slurred speech. Such reactions can be fatal if not treated.

Pterois - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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Eaing a few will do nothing. In order to attack this problem the lionfish must be targeted and eradicated. Fish traps might work but there will have to be economic incentives for the fishermen. The Lionfish have spread quickly and no one seems to know what to do. Handling these fish is dangerous. To clean one is risky. These fish could not have arrived at a worse time when the reefs are suffering from rising water temperatures and disease. Want to see live coral reefs it may be a good time to look as they may not be alive in a few short years. Sad circumstance but its hard to be optomistic. btw, if you want to see Lionfish all you need to do is snorkel out to the reef off Sosua beach.
 
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PeterInBrat

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May 29, 2006
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The lionfish is def here to stay, but it's a manner of management. The starting population for the entire Caribbean has been traced back to a pet fish shop in FL that had them escape during a hurricane, so if they are wiped out to all diving depths, they would still recover. It's a classic invasive species.
 
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Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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I saw a piece on Miami TV a few months ago.
It was about commercial fishing in Florida watersfor "Lion Fish.'
Don't worry, they are served in fillets in the restaurants in Fla.
There are now thousands of Burmese pythons in the everglades when the "Lionfishys" are under control.
After spending a few years in the "Orient" I know from my personal experience that "Puppies", Trump, "Kittens"!!!!!!! :surprised:surprised:surprised
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zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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I am an ex commercial fisherman from Florida and I have a number of ideas on how to control the Lionfish invasion. I am waiting for the the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (which drove me out of business) to offer me a fair price per Lionfish plus start up capital, naturally. I check my mailbox every day but I am not yet holding my breath. Meanwhile the Lionfish are eating up everything on the reef with no end in sight.
 
Hlywud

Hlywud

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Jan 1, 2002
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www.beyondthebeach.ca
Information The lionfish (also known as the turkeyfish, tigerfish, dragonfish, scorpionfish, and butterfly cod) is a poisonous spiky fish.

Lionfish (Pterois volitans) - Animals - A-Z Animals - Animal Facts, Information, Pictures, Videos, Resources and Links

lionfish.jpeg
 
Conchman

Conchman

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Jul 3, 2002
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There was a huge population explosion of this fish in The Bahamas in the late 90's and early 00's, but their populations seem to have dwindled now in the islands. The rumor was that Atlantis Resort in Nassau, which has a large lion fish exhibit in their extensive aquarium collection, accidently flushed lion fish eggs into their natural lagoon (via intakes and outtake valves/pipes into the lagoon) and the population exploded from there. The Bahamas did have lion fish spearfishing tournaments, but I doubt that this had any real effect on the populations.
 
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zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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They are easy to spear as they are not afraid of you or anything else for that matter. No predators are interesed in them.
 
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