Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park have been aggressive in encouraging visitors to beware of the voracious and poisonous Lionfish in the waters and off the reefs of St. John and the VIs.
There have been public meetings about the threat. Volunteer divers have sought out the fish, capturing and killing them.
Now the VI government hopes to motivate VI fishermen to catch Lionfish by encouraging local restaurants to put the fish on their menus. The Fish and Wildlife division of DPNR hopes If there's demand from eateries, then the fisherman may create the supply.
This video clip is from TV2, highlighting Villa Morales which has put Lionfish on the menu. Frommers calls it "the premier Puerto Rican restaurant on St. Croix."
A favorite part of the report is when the TV2 news person says, "Of course there are concerns that lionfish may not be safe to eat but DPNR say there's nothing to worry about."