Eating Lionfish?

[MaxxedMan]

I just got this from the New England Aquarium

http://divers.neaq.org/2012/05/invas...-lionfish.html

Anyone on here eating them?

[nrbelk]

I've never gotten the chance to eat them but I have read in some articles that caution must be used due to the possibility of Ciguatera poisoning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciguatera

[bongarone]

You can use the cooked spines like toothpicks.

[mess7777]

there is a big push to promote eating them in the carribean as a means to help control the invasive population. apparantly it is a nice white fish...so delicate flavours like tilapia i guess. i would like to give it a try.....last time i was in cuba they were all over the place when snorkelling

[rovster]

They are becoming a problem here in South Florida. They are definitely eaten in the Carribean, and I know some people that are divers that spear them and eat them. Apparently, they are pretty tasty!

[Sugar Magnolia]

I'd eat one. Hopefully they will become readily available on the eastern seaboard given the overabundance of them.

[BIG_KAHUNA]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...ats-for-dinner

[Tat2demon]

If I wasnt stuck in South Dakota Id eat them.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Originally Posted by BIG_KAHUNA

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...ats-for-dinner

Ewww. Not so much.

[Tat2demon]

Thats an sweet pic in that link.

[yardboy]

When I first heard of people eating them in the Caribbean I asked my sister-in-law, who lives in the Philippines if they eat them there. Typically they will eat anything that is edible. They do not eat lionfish due to the risk of "getting sick", she said. I assume ciguatera or something else.

[MichaelDavid]

Don't people in Japan eat pufferfish? Isn't it kind of the same?

[sslak]

I thought Ciguatera was localized to certain reef areas. Do the Lionfish have a long range? They seem like a fish that would hunt in relatively localized areas.

Can't they just avoid fish from certain reefs?

[MrTuskfish]

Originally Posted by nrbelk

I've never gotten the chance to eat them but I have read in some articles that caution must be used due to the possibility of Ciguatera poisoning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciguatera

This has been said about lots of fish. I know an ER Doc in the Keys who has never seen a case of ciguatera poisoning. I lived in the Keys for a few years (long ago) and spent my life around keys marinas and the fishing scene. I never heard of anyone who had been poisoned by ciguatera either.

I dined on lionfish a few years ago. , my host knew I was a fish geek and called it something else. It was broiled with a touch of paprika, garlic and tarragon (an excellent broiled fish herb). It was very mild, buttery, and reminded me of orange roughy. (Larry the Cable Guy says an orange roughy is what you take after eating a whole bag of Cheeze-Doodles).
I'll admit to not really wanting to eat the same species I keep, but I'll get over it; the guilt is over-ruled by the positive thing you do for the environment when you kill Atlantic lions.

[elrey]

I live in Puerto Rico. And i don't know anyone that eats lion fish, but I have read that it can be eat, just have caution on how you prepare it and don't get poisoned

[sponger0]

Lionfish are very abundant in areas. Some places even pay good money for them. So I guess why not eat them. Venomous or poisonous fish can be eaten. The key is preparation just like puffer fish. There are certain parts you cant eat for those reasons

[Dr Colliebreath]

They are spreading up the East Coast seaboard (Florida to NC) and have no natural predators, so they are devouring fish populations. Eat as many as you can. Now if only we could also find a market for those pesky jellyfish.

[ajcanale]

You can use the cooked spines like toothpicks.