The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has concluded that lionfish populations will "continue to grow and cannot be eliminated using conventional methods." In 2010 NOAA launched the “Eat Lionfish” campaign encouraging people to hunt the invasive species, suggesting this to be the most effective method to combat the exploding lionfish population. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) currently has no size or bag limit on lionfish and in 2015 they officially designated the first Saturday after Mother's Day of every year as Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day. In October of 2015 Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch awarded lionfish their highest possible rating of "best choice" in sustainability. Whole Foods also joined the growing trend by announcing last month they will offer lionfish as a seafood option in markets beginning in the next six months.
In South Florida, a novel partnership between a conservation organization and a restaurant is helping to make a difference by encouraging lionfish as a viable food source. The non-profit Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) has been leading efforts to address the invasion around the region including research, education, and control programs. To aid in developing the market for lionfish, REEF also published The Lionfish Cookbook, now in its second edition. Featured in the cookbook are lionfish recipes from guest chefs from New York to The Dominican Republic as well as local chef, Andres Avayú Avayu from Piccolo Ristorante in Fort Lauderdale. On June 22nd, Piccolo will be hosting their second Lionfish Tasting Dinner to raise awareness for ocean and coral reef conservation. Chef Andres will be preparing a tapas style tasting for 30 guests, and he says the menu is "the perfect way to introduce people to the wide variety of ways lionfish can be prepared." Chef Avayú and his wife Alison are the managing owners of Piccolo Ristorante, as well as avid scuba divers who are motivated by the idea of removing an invasive species from the South Florida reef ecosystem. The Lionfish Tasting Dinner is a joint effort, supported by UVAS Americas Wine Importer & Distributor and DiveBar, a scuba diving marine conservation nonprofit. The marine conservation dinner is $75 per person, of which $50 of each ticket sold will be donated to REEF. REEF staff will be present at the event to provide a short informative presentation on lionfish and the threats they pose to our reefs. Tickets for the event can be purchased at thedivebar.org. Thank you to Norman's Lionfish, who donated the fish necessary for the Lionfish Tasting Dinner. Anyone interested in contributing to lionfish removal and marine conservation can visit normanslionfish.com to either purchase fish by the pound or even become a diver for the New York based supplier. Piccolo Ristorante, DiveBar, and UVAS Americas are looking forward to this event and hope to exceed last years’ donation of $1400 to REEF to further marine conservation in South Florida and around the world.
Caity Savoia is a marine conservation graduate student at the University of Miami, as well as a biological technician at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Executive Director of DiveBar.
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