Let us eat…lionfish

Ray Hilborn famously urged Americans to eat more fish in his recent NYT op-ed Let us eat fish.  I explained why this is a bad idea here, but one fish it would be good to start eating more of is invasive lionfish.

Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote a great piece on the fledgling lionfish fishery Answer for Invasive Species: Put It on a Plate and Eat It:

With its dark red and black stripes, spotted fins and long venomous black spikes, the lionfish seems better suited for horror films than consumption. But lionfish fritters and filets may be on American tables soon.

An invasive species, the lionfish is devastating reef fish populations along the Florida coast and into the Caribbean. Now, an increasing number of environmentalists, consumer groups and scientists are seriously testing a novel solution to control it and other aquatic invasive species — one that would also takes pressure off depleted ocean fish stocks: they want Americans to step up to their plates and start eating invasive critters in large numbers.

“Humans are the most ubiquitous predators on earth,” said Philip Kramer, director of the Caribbean program for theNature Conservancy. “Instead of eating something like shark fin soup, why not eat a species that is causing harm, and with your meal make a positive contribution?”

Also see our full length lionfish movie:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/25888874[/vimeo]


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2 responses to “Let us eat…lionfish”

  1. You’ll also love this Shifting Baseline PSA: http://www.deathtolionfish.org/

  2. Steven

    This is great. I worked with someone at BIOS who was attempting to develop a fishery there (in Bermuda)… but where can we find it here in the States? I can’t eat it if I can’t buy it somewhere.

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