# Lionfish



## medtran49 (Aug 27, 2016)

We were in Whole Paycheck today looking for some hard to find things.  They had whole lionfish for $8.99 a pound.  We didn't get any but for those of you that like them, might want to check and see if your local WF has them.  Really surprised they still had their full spine complement.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 27, 2016)

This is very good news, Medtran!  It's some of the best tasting fish you can eat, mild, flaky, and just plain delicious.  I'm pleased that it's finally being sold commercially!  We don't have Whole Paycheck anywhere around here, but I'll have to let my brother know to look for it.

Caribbean islands, where this unwanted predator has been decimating the baby fish, are finally getting the word out, and the lionfish population is starting to decline.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 27, 2016)

Shoot.  I see it's only in Whole Foods in Florida.


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## medtran49 (Aug 27, 2016)

Sorry, didn't know.  Maybe they're just testing the market and will eventually expand if they sell enough.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 27, 2016)

Well, next time I'm in FL, I may have to stuff my suitcase with it.  Was it fresh, or frozen?

That's an excellent price as well, considering how labor intensive it is to catch them.  Most are speared by divers, though some might be netted.


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## medtran49 (Aug 27, 2016)

Fresh.  Yeah compared to hogfish, which used to be only spear fished, at around $20 per pound, that's not too bad.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 27, 2016)

Hm.  Fresh won't work in my suitcase.  If you get some, I can give you a few ideas for recipes!  My favorite is coconut crusted.  We eat it at least twice every trip to Cozumel.


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## expatgirl (Aug 28, 2016)

Such a gorgeous looking fish with such a beautiful, deceptive, beastly, bear-biting , b**breaking, barbarous, sting...........DON'T ever touch one...........no matter how she sings her siren's song and wafts her fins towards you........you will REGRET it if you touch it..........However, GLAD to know that they taste good.......but I'd have to have a coroner's report to make sure it was dead and fully cooked...........


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2016)

Nothing to worry about eating them, expat.  They even make the freshest tasting raw ceviche.  The spines are the only things that are venomous, and have nothing to do with the flesh.  I could go on for hours about how delicious this fish is, and I'm usually a walleye girl.


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## expatgirl (Aug 28, 2016)

Well, given the sting I was given, I'm ready to eat those beasties anytime........anyplace,,,,,,,anywhere,,,,,bring them on.........


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2016)

Yeah, when I see them while snorkeling, I won't pat them!  But dang, they're delicious.

I really hope Whole Paycheck puts them in their stores nation-wide, not just FL.


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## expatgirl (Aug 28, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> Yeah, when I see them while snorkeling, I won't pat them!  But dang, they're delicious.
> 
> I really hope Whole Paycheck puts them in their stores nation-wide, not just FL.


   as long as they move them to Texas, too.........oh, where or where do I think I'm at????  I've only seen these beasties at Sharm El Sheik in Egypt........who knows I may  be surprised!!!


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## RPCookin (Aug 28, 2016)

expatgirl said:


> Well, given the sting I was given, I'm ready to eat those beasties anytime........anyplace,,,,,,,anywhere,,,,,bring them on.........



They are invading the Caribbean and pose a potential hazard to an ecosystem that has no natural defense against them.  It is fairly certain that the invasion results from a combination of Floridians releasing them from home aquariums, and possibly from accidental release as a result of hurricane flooding.  

The infestation began along the Florida coast and moved out from there.  We saw them in the Bahamas and in Jamaica.  They have organized hunts for them in the Bahamas, and Dawg is right, they are an amazing delicacy to eat.


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## Andy M. (Aug 28, 2016)

They're a problem in Aruba as well. There is a campaign to get more  restaurants to offer then on their menus.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2016)

Cozumel also has an annual lionfish tournament, and off the top of my head, at least 5 local restaurants there feature it on their menu.  I've had it coconut-crusted (my fave), garlic buttered, with marinara (we now get that on the side, do not smother a beautiful fillet with sauce), and just browned butter.  Lionfish ceviche is also delicious, so clean and fresh tasting.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 28, 2016)

You're making me want to try it, Dawg  I should ask my fishmonger if he can get it.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 28, 2016)

Oh, GG, you will not be sorry, it's that good.  You are much closer to the source than we are here along the river, so the possibility of finding it might be better than what we have.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 28, 2016)

He gets fresh scallops trucked in every day from up north somewhere, so it's possible to get stuff from down south, too, I suppose.


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## erehweslefox (Aug 29, 2016)

I have heard lionfish are a Problem Fish on the reef. my thought is that we should just start eating them. 

Oh and GG, I already liked you but fishmonger? Now I have a total internet crush on you.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 29, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> I have heard lionfish are a Problem Fish on the reef. my thought is that we should just start eating them.
> 
> Oh and GG, I already liked you but fishmonger? Now I have a total internet crush on you.



Awww 

My fishmonger: http://pilotonline.com/entertainmen...cle_093230cc-a2f7-5160-83d6-20485ad8b1f2.html

He's a great guy. Always has tips and ideas for cooking the seafood.


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## medtran49 (Aug 29, 2016)

Many areas affected by the lionfish invasion have derbies throughout the year.  More info Lionfish Research Program | Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) .


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Aug 29, 2016)

I saw them in the fresh (never frozen) fish case at Wegman's last Friday. I just hope they don't get carried away and over fish them so they end up on the endangered species list. They may be voracious predators, they are beautiful fish. We've already decimated the shark population before we realized they really are a beneficial species.


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## medtran49 (Aug 29, 2016)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> I saw them in the fresh (never frozen) fish case at Wegman's last Friday. I just hope they don't get carried away and over fish them so they end up on the endangered species list. They may be voracious predators, they are beautiful fish. We've already decimated the shark population before we realized they really are a beneficial species.


 
They are an *invasive* species in the Atlantic and Gulf, and have no natural predators in these areas.  They are eating the young of native fish and endangering the natives.  Frankly, I hope they are over-fished in the Atlantic and Gulf, preferably to the point of disappearing.  

They are not a commercially viable fish even in their native environment, as they are a fish that must be speared or hand netted, or sucked into a collection tube if collecting for an aquarium.  Considering that a female fish can lay up to 2 million eggs in a lifetime, 10,000-12,000 at a batch, with no natural predators, we have a problem where there are no native predators of lionfish.


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## CraigC (Aug 29, 2016)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> I saw them in the fresh (never frozen) fish case at Wegman's last Friday. I just hope they don't get carried away and over fish them so they end up on the endangered species list. They may be voracious predators, they are beautiful fish. We've already decimated the shark population before we realized they really are a beneficial species.



They need to be wiped out where they don't belong! They are an invasive species in the Atlantic and Caribbean. They may create "Endangered Species" in populations of native species.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 29, 2016)

CraigC said:


> They need to be wiped out where they don't belong! They are an invasive species in the Atlantic and Caribbean. They may create "Endangered Species" in populations of native species.




Exactly.  The natives like groupers and moray eels have no idea what to make of lionfish, and don't eat them, all the while the lionfish are gobbling up every native baby fish in sight.  

I will continue to eat my weight in lionfish every chance I can get.  Hopefully this terrible pest will be eradicated from the Caribbean in my lifetime.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 29, 2016)

It looks like Whole Foods will be offering it in more stores this year, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program lists it as a Best Choice because it's so invasive. Good news 

There's a cool infographic on them, too 

http://californiadiver.com/coming-soon-to-your-local-whole-foods-market-lionfish-0414/


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## Dawgluver (Aug 29, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> It looks like Whole Foods will be offering it in more stores this year, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program lists it as a Best Choice because it's so invasive. Good news
> 
> There's a cool infographic on them, too
> 
> http://californiadiver.com/coming-soon-to-your-local-whole-foods-market-lionfish-0414/




Yay!  This is exciting!

I'm sending your link to my brother.  He has a nearby Whole Foods.


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## RPCookin (Aug 29, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> Exactly.  The natives like groupers and moray eels have no idea what to make of lionfish, and don't eat them, all the while the lionfish are gobbling up every native baby fish in sight.
> 
> I will continue to eat my weight in lionfish every chance I can get.  Hopefully this terrible pest will be eradicated from the Caribbean in my lifetime.



Actually some grouper species have been observed eating small lionfish.  I don't think that it's enough to keep them controlled though.  It takes a while for the native species to adapt to such a "prickly" diet.


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## Dawgluver (Aug 29, 2016)

RPCookin said:


> Actually some grouper species have been observed eating small lionfish.  I don't think that it's enough to keep them controlled though.  It takes a while for the native species to adapt to such a "prickly" diet.




Some of the spearfishers are trying to teach the local fish to eat them.  They spear the lionfish, then give them to the groupers and morays to eat.


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## medtran49 (Aug 29, 2016)

RPCookin said:


> Actually some grouper species have been observed eating small lionfish. I don't think that it's enough to keep them controlled though. It takes a while for the native species to adapt to such a "prickly" diet.


 
It's also because some divers have been feeding the grouper, eels and cudas the speared lionfish.  That's one of the warnings that are given on the round-ups because apparently some of the sealife are getting pretty aggressive toward divers because they expect "hand-outs."  

I'd imagine digesting them is pretty much like with reptiles that are fed rodents with claws, birds with beaks, claws, feathers, as long as it goes in head first, that's great, everything kind of slides along.  If it goes in backwards (butt in first), you have a potentially big problem if a spine, beak, claw gets stuck in/punctures the intestine.


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## expatgirl (Aug 29, 2016)

if the lionfish start to seriously take out the grouper I'm turning into the "Lion-Nater"........there is no better tasting fish than the grouper.......and they're BIG......we can't let this happen........


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## Dawgluver (Aug 29, 2016)

medtran49 said:


> It's also because some divers have been feeding the grouper, eels and cudas the speared lionfish.  That's one of the warnings that are given on the round-ups because apparently some of the sealife are getting pretty aggressive toward divers because they expect "hand-outs."
> 
> I'd imagine digesting them is pretty much like with reptiles that are fed rodents with claws, birds with beaks, claws, feathers, as long as it goes in head first, that's great, everything kind of slides along.  If it goes in backwards (butt in first), you have a potentially big problem if a spine, beak, claw gets stuck in/punctures the intestine.




Indeed.  I despise it when divemasters and snorkel guides, along with ill-informed tourists, feed the local fish.  It happens all over.  The fish will actually attack and nip you when you don't have a handout they're expecting.


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## CraigC (Aug 29, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> Indeed.  I despise it when divemasters and snorkel guides, along with ill-informed tourists, feed the local fish.  It happens all over.  The fish will actually attack and nip you when you don't have a handout they're expecting.



Now jump that up to idiots that do shark feeding trips. How about those that allow alligator feeding, um cough, um Disney World, um cough.


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