Perhaps the most interesting thing I discovered about the invasive lionfish species on my recent trip to Saint Lucia is that they seem to be getting wise to spear-fishers. Why were fewer lionfish being seen in shallower waters and around the reefs? Was the population going down?

No.

It just meant the lionfish were learning to go deeper, to 100 feet or below. From speaking to fishers, I learned that in deeper waters there were hundreds of lionfish, and what’s more they are much larger, the kind of big tasty specimens that hotels prefer to buy.

This means there’s the potential for a lot more pot-fishing, as traps can be dropped to great depths. So why isn’t this happening?

At the moment, it’s the Pelagic fishing season – where boats go out and catch fish who live in further-out waters, and pot-fishing doesn’t start until June. However, if there was more of a demand for lionfish, the fishers would use traps all year.

Stimulating demand

This is our next step with the project, and I was meeting with hotels and restaurants, and their trade association the SLHTA, to work out their needs with regard to lionfish supply. Interestingly, most of the people I met were aware that lionfish is an invasive species, and many chefs said it was tasty, versatile and good to cook with.

Our plans to encourage more demand include raising awareness among customers that it’s a delicious fish and that eating it helps conserve coral reefs, and ensuring hotel and restaurant staff know how to prepare it, which might involve some more/additional training.

Meeting so many people face to face also helped me understand some of the more unconventional networks that are already in place to facilitate local supply chains. For instance, several farmers are connected to hoteliers on a WhatsApp group, where buyers can post their requirements for quantities of fresh vegetables. For our work on lionfish supply, it’s important to tap into these existing structures rather than reinventing the wheel.

Most people I met were interested in our lionfish project and keen to support it. Over the coming months we’ll be aiming to get this species onto the regular list of fish that go through wholesalers and are requested by hotel chefs.

Watch this space!