Eating Lionfish Is not Sustainable- Good!

In Tobago’s peaceful waters, the mesmerizing lionfish with its beautiful stripes creates problems for the marine ecosystem. An unwelcome guest, it’s not native to our waters and is wreaking havoc on the local marine life.

As an invasive species with no predators, these gluttons with nothing to fear are eating other fish every 30 minutes. They are growing in size every day and with the current world record of 3.5 lbs, there appears to be no end in sight. This record has been held by Tobago several times in recent years and is unfortunately not one to celebrate.

In the Indo-Pacific region where they are native, barracudas, groupers, and sharks hunt them. They usually weigh about 2 lbs and females lay 1,000,000 eggs each year. In the Caribbean, it’s 2,000,000. Needless to say, we have a problem.

The novel idea of training our native species to prey on lionfish is not one set in reality. It will take many generations for the species to learn to eat it and become resistant to its venomous spines. This idea will not be successful for our future generations.

Aside from disease, humans have the power to intervene. The focus should be on preventing an explosion of numbers, limiting them. It would be extremely difficult for us to completely eliminate them.

Hunting and consumption

Currently, they are individually hunted by free divers and SCUBA divers using pole spears. One shot, one fish. There are risks, and the pool of hunters is limited. On a good day, a pair of hunters can spear around 50 fish weighing 50 lbs while SCUBA diving. The dive usually lasts 45 minutes to an hour and the maximum depth reached is 40 m. There are dives that can produce no results at all. Still, the boat needed fuel, the tanks needed air and even the ice was waiting in the coolers.

Still, we won’t solve the problem. Lionfish live as deep as the coral, in Tobago to depths of 80 m. Here they are undisturbed. This is how the approach will change – traps. There are several suitable traps that can be used, from traditional fish pots to ones specifically developed to trap lionfish.

Regardless of design, they will be deployed in areas where there is a profusion of feed. Strong ocean currents bring with them a high flow of nutrients, vital to the coral and juvenile fish. Lionfish are lured by this sight, migrating there to indulge in a feast. These are the focal points, and by supporting the fisher folk in building, deploying and tending to the traps, we may have a chance of success. The amount of lionfish caught will increase a lot, providing a tasty fish to the market at a lower price.

Venom injects, poison ingests

The fish’s venomous spines are dangerous to people when they catch them in the ocean, but they are removed when the fish is brought to land, so consumers don’t need to worry about this risk. Lionfish are not poisonous; eating them is like eating any other fish. Behind the bony head and under the stripes, the white flesh is clean tasting, well-flaked, and has a perfect texture.

Alleviating the Situation

As the lionfish invasion poses challenges, the Caribbean community is rising to the occasion. The Tobago Lionfish Eradication Project actively hunts and sells lionfish. Gathering data from every hunt, they are well poised to work with other fisher folk for the deployment of traps. They take on the risks involved in the hunt and the processing and manage these risks with their training and experience. With the safety being checked, it means the lionfish become accessible to the market.

One of their customers, Del Mano, makes sausages out of this fish. The skin and bones are removed, the flesh is chopped, gently seasoned with fragrant lemon grass and shadon beni, freshly made coconut cream is added to round it out. It’s funny, nature usually provides the ingredients that work well together in the same place. This innovative and delicious solution uses one fish to produce one pack of sausages. Remember that the next time you get yours, you supported the effort to have one less fish in our waters.

While promoting a culture of conscious consumption, sustainable food choices are usually at the heart. Encouraging and promoting more hunting and consumption of lionfish may seem contradictory, but if you look closer, you’ll see that it actually helps maintain a healthy balance and sustainability in our marine ecosystem. It’s more than a meal: it’s a step in the right direction.