The problem with lionfish is that they have voracious appetites and eat other fish species. They also are rapid breeders, and females can lay up to 2 million eggs a year. With no known predators, there’s no natural way to stop the lionfish from taking over entire areas and wiping out natural fish species. Unless humans step in and kill lionfish, which is becoming known as a tasty fish.

Invasivores, as the New York Times calls them, could play a very useful role in helping to control lionfish and other invasive species. Aside from lionfish, some fisheries biologists are suggesting the Asian carp be renamed to “Kentucky Tuna” to make it appealing to diners.

The idea of eating invasive species is not new, but it may hold a conservation key to help natural species survive. And both meat eaters and vegans can participate. Vegans can dine on salads that include weeds such as the field mustard or turnip mustard plant Brassica rapa. Or parts of dandelions.

Human appetites have been proven to be powerful forces in nature. Let’s use them to eliminate invasive species!

But there’s hope.  Apparently lionfish taste great, and efforts are being made to develop a market in which humans can eat lionfish into local extinction in the areas it doesn’t belong.

Sea to Table is a New York based organization which seeks out locally and sustainably managed fisheries needing better access to direct markets and provides a direct connection between fishermen and chefs.  In a recent interview, Sean Dimin of Sea to Table told me about the high level of interest that was shown when lionfish was made available in several restaurants in the test markets of New York and Chicago.  “With a few boxes and plenty of conversations around the country, we feel there is a large enough market to tackle this problem,” Dimin commented.

That lionfish tastes delicious is a large success factor.  Although it could be sold through a conservation story, people would only go so far in supporting the effort if the taste wasn’t there.  But the lionfish feeds on small crustaceans and fish, and has a similar taste to snapper.  The delicate, snow white flesh has an almost sweet flavor.

Now that the market has been found, Sea to Table is working on creating a reliable supply.  The challenge is that conventional harvesting methods, such as hooks and lines, don’t work.  Lionfish are top predators, not scavengers which might feed on already dead animals such as bait in a fish trap.  Sea to Table has been working with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) off the coast of North Carolina, as well as with a number of dive outfits, to try to find a solution.  One method that works is using live bait.  When live bait fish are put into a 2 litre soda bottle and then placed into a fish trap, the lionfish think it’s a school of small fish and enter the trap, becoming trapped themselves.  The live bait can be used again and again, unlike dead bait.

Dimin also mentioned “the largest of the fish processors in the Bahamas are working to develop traps and are also working on putting bounties out there for spear fishermen to go and harvest” as many lionfish as possible.  Bounties were used previously but became too expensive to maintain when the number of lionfish exceeded the budget.  But bounties become affordable when paid by a fish processing plant that sells the fish.  “It’s a commercialization of directed overfishing”, suggests Dimin.

So if a reliable supply can be obtained, human appetites for healthy and delicious foods might just eat this menacing species out of existence in the areas it causes harm.  It looks like this invasive species story is heading towards a deliciously happy ending.