Lionfish any good to eat?

[andyd]

My dad moved to Marshfield and went in on a side dragger to go day fishing.. At this time Haddock was considered dog food. Dogfish and skate were picked through the head and tossed back. It was the all mighty cod. Cod was cheaper than beef in a fishing town on the Irish Riviera. On the other side of the pond dogfish was the fish in fish and chips. Being sharks, their reproduction rates are low. Once they became food, there are less of them than cod.

 

[Nyogtha]

No, they wouldn't like Saskatchewan. I've seen documentaries about them littering the ocean floor in the upper Atlantic coast when the water temperatures drop each year now.

My wife and I are avid scuba divers, and we have seen their impact over recent years on spots we visit in the Caribbean, and it's not good. Something keeps them in check in their native habitat but nobody yet has that really narrowed down. They are to the Caribbean waters what South American fire ants are to Southern North America on land.

Not even the sharks go after lionfish in these waters, unless they've been caught by humans and chopped to chum to attract sharks, such as a guaranteed shark encounter scuba excursion.

 

[Shannow]

Have you guys seen the lionfish's more aggro Australian cousin the stonefish ?

Stepping on one is supposed to be the most painful thing that a human can experience...and is generally fatal. But apparently good eating.

 

[4WD]

That thing makes your Orange Roughy look absolutely stunning …
and not sure I’m getting involved with the fillet process …

 

[Nyogtha]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Have you guys seen the lionfish's more aggro Australian cousin the stonefish ?

Stepping on one is supposed to be the most painful thing that a human can experience...and is generally fatal. But apparently good eating.


I've seen many, many stone fish in the Caribbean as well as trips to yhe tropical Pacific. The stone fish I've seen are definitely not more aggro than lionfish as they wait in one spot to ambush instead of actively cruising the reefs gulping away. The stone fish have more of a fear response than lion fish when something other than yheir prey gets close, and will actually make a croaking noise as a warning if really close. You can feel it along the side of the stone fish better than hear it with the range of hearing we humans have. Ones here are rarely if ever fatal if medical treatment is received, but quite painfil I understand. Never known anyone to eat stone fish.

The varieties of stone fish I've seen are all native to their waters and overpopulation isn't an issue like it is with the invasive lionfish here.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Nyogtha
No, they wouldn't like Saskatchewan. I've seen documentaries about them littering the ocean floor in the upper Atlantic coast when the water temperatures drop each year now.

Our hottest lake temperatures in the summer probably wouldn't be enough for them.

 

[nthach]

If I was a scuba diver in Florida, I'd be making lionfish tacos or miso marinated lionfish every other week. California's invasive fish is carp - people dump off goldfish and koi at the ponds and reservoirs. San Francisco Parks & Rec had to poison one of the ponds in Golden Gate Park with rotenone to wipe out the carp population.

Certain crabs and mollusks from Asia are also troublesome. Oakland/SF and LA/San Diego have mitigation plans for mitten crabs but they'll eventually take over the Dungeness/rock crab population.

 

[Win]

Quote:
Catfish have some nasty sharp fins here In Ma. Nobody wants to eat them ( some people) but we like catching them... lol...


People around here stick their hands in the catfish mouth, and forcibly drag them out from the water. Which I think is insane. I prefer to shoot them in the head when I get them on the bank to take the edge off of them. I've seen mudcats so mean that after being shot in the head and filleted, they still want to swim off.

Quote:
The Asian Carp is taking over the Mississippi water shed. .... Some doofis let these go and they have nothing in the ecology to counter them.


That doofi would be the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the imperial Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. They got loose from one fish farm here, which was 100% predictable. And they obviously weren't sterile.

 

[CincyDavid]

Andrew Zimmern says all sorts of gross stuff tastes good...consider the source.

 

[Nyogtha]

It's a fish whose diet is smaller fish. It's bony and a relative PITA to catch & clean vs. angling. After cooking just pick around the bones unless that's too much trouble - if so don't eat it. That's why grilling in a foil pouch is the preferred prep method.

Now if only one could market this as something exotic for the sushi crowd and put a high price tag on it, then maybe it could be harvested to the point of gaining control here.

Lobster & crab & crawfish are bottom feeders on the other hand but I find them delicious! Had a big platter of fried crawfish tails with a baked potato last Saturday night at Willie's.