BIOLOGICAL POLLUTION - Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 206

Caribbean. Researchers asked divers not to remove lionfish
from one particular area so it could be used as a control site.
At removal sites lionfish density decreased, and those that
remained were smaller, while fish numbers increased at the
control site. When the study began, many lionfish were about
16 inches long, but at the end of the study the removed fish
were less than half this length. Size is important, as larger fish
consume bigger prey and lay a lot more eggs. One potential
problem that may result from intensive culling is that the fish
can learn to change their behavior to become less visible to
divers. A recent study compared behavior of lionfish from an
area where spear fishing had occurred with fish from areas
where hunting had not taken place. On culled reefs, fewer fish
were active during the day, and they hid themselves much
more effectively.
Divers in some areas have attempted to entice top predators
(sharks, barracudas, groupers, snappers) to consume captured
lionfish, in the hope that predators will learn to hunt and prey
on them. To date, there is no evidence that predators are learn-
ing to prey on lionfish. Unexpected effects of these activities
include aggressive behavior of predators during encounters
with divers, with subsequent injuries to the divers.
Can invasive species be controlled by eating them?
If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em: if you can't persuade sharks to eat
the lionfish, you can encourage people to do so.
Lionfish, it turns out, are very tasty, and many countries are
developing incentives for people to eat them. Many fishers rely
on their catch to provide much of the diet for their families and
consider lionfish good eating. Eating the catch is also a strong
incentive for recreational fishers. Promoting consumption of
lionfish encourages their removal, but education in handling
the fish, with their toxic spines, is essential. Restaurants in
Mexico, the Caymans, and Caribbean islands are beginning
to serve them, and cookbooks have been written. The news