用刀叉擊退獅子魚(yú)

用刀叉擊退獅子魚(yú)

While most reports of a precipitous decline in an animal population are met with dismay, news of decreased sightings of the lionfish in some places is reason for optimism.

雖然大多數(shù)關(guān)于獅子魚(yú)數(shù)量急劇下降的報(bào)道都令人沮喪，但在一些地方獅子魚(yú)數(shù)量下降的消息卻令人樂(lè)觀。

Lionfish can be cooked like any other fish, as long as the poisonous spines are removed first. (Photo: Kjeld Friis/Shutterstock)

With its vivid candy stripes and incredible fringed, flowing fins, the football-sized lionfish is a beautiful creature to behold; Pterois volitans is also a fast-growing voracious eater that reproduces year-round. And it has no known predators in the eastern Atlantic and Caribbean, where it has taken up residence since the early 2000s, some believe as the result of people releasing the popular aquarium fish into coastal waters.

鮮艷的糖果條紋和令人難以置信的流蘇，流動(dòng)的鰭，足球大小的獅子魚(yú)是一個(gè)美麗的生物，看;狐蝠也是一種快速增長(zhǎng)的食蟲(chóng)動(dòng)物，它們一年四季都在繁殖。一些人認(rèn)為，由于人們將這種受歡迎的水族魚(yú)放生到沿海水域，自本世紀(jì)初以來(lái)，這種魚(yú)就在東大西洋和加勒比海地區(qū)定居下來(lái)。

Jamaica was the first to come up with a solution, launching a campaign to decrease the population of lionfish in an effort to preserve regional reefs suffering from the species’ taste for native juvenile fish and crustaceans. Jamaica's National Environment and Planning Agency revealed a 66 percent drop in sightings of lionfish in coastal waters with depths of 75 feet, ABC News reported at the time.

牙買加是第一個(gè)提出解決方案的國(guó)家，發(fā)起了一項(xiàng)減少獅子魚(yú)數(shù)量的運(yùn)動(dòng)，以保護(hù)因獅子魚(yú)對(duì)本地幼魚(yú)和甲殼類動(dòng)物的口味而遭受損失的區(qū)域珊瑚礁。據(jù)美國(guó)廣播公司(ABC)當(dāng)時(shí)的報(bào)道，牙買加國(guó)家環(huán)境與規(guī)劃局(National Environment and Planning Agency)披露，在75英尺(約合15米)深的沿海水域，獅子魚(yú)的目擊量下降了66%。

This success and others have spawned copycat behavior in the United States and across the Caribbean — all focused on catching and eating lionfish.

這一成功和其他成功已經(jīng)在美國(guó)和整個(gè)加勒比地區(qū)引發(fā)了模仿行為——所有人都專注于捕捉和食用獅子魚(yú)。

In fact, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) isn't just encouraging the practice of catching lionfish; they'll pay you for it, according to the Miami Herald. Fishermen can earn up to $5,000 for "harvesting" and photographing at least 25 fish. It's part of the Lionfish Challenge, an ongoing push to rid the state's waters of the invasive species with a series of events that run through mid-October.

事實(shí)上，佛羅里達(dá)州的魚(yú)類和野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)委員會(huì)(FWC)不僅鼓勵(lì)捕撈獅子魚(yú);據(jù)《邁阿密先驅(qū)報(bào)》報(bào)道，他們會(huì)付錢給你的。漁民們可以通過(guò)“收割”和拍攝至少25條魚(yú)賺到5000美元。這是獅子魚(yú)挑戰(zhàn)的一部分，這是一項(xiàng)正在進(jìn)行的運(yùn)動(dòng)，旨在通過(guò)一系列持續(xù)到10月中旬的活動(dòng)，清除該州水域的入侵物種。

If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em

如果你不能打敗他們，就吃掉他們

One of the most successful methods of catching lionfish is also the simplest: Spearing them. (Photo: Drew McArthur/Shutterstock)

Dayne Buddo, a marine ecologist who focuses on marine invaders at the Caribbean island's University of the West Indies, believes Jamaica's decline in lionfish is due to changing attitudes about the fish by local fisherman. Although those multiple flowing dorsal fins are exquisite to look at, they pack a powerful punch of venom. Buddo said that in the past, Jamaican fishermen had been hesitant to deal with the pain-inducing fish. However, now the species has become a popular food item.

海洋生態(tài)學(xué)家達(dá)恩·布多(Dayne Buddo)在這個(gè)加勒比海島嶼的西印度群島大學(xué)(University of the West Indies)專門研究海洋入侵者。雖然這些流動(dòng)的背鰭看起來(lái)很精致，但它們含有強(qiáng)大的毒液。布多說(shuō)，過(guò)去，牙買加漁民一直不愿處理這種會(huì)引起疼痛的魚(yú)。然而，現(xiàn)在這個(gè)物種已經(jīng)成為一種受歡迎的食物。

As it turns out, the spines are easily removed and cooking neutralizes the poison; plus, they taste good. The white flesh of the fish is said to be similar in flavor to certain snappers and groupers.

事實(shí)證明，刺很容易去掉，烹飪可以中和毒素;另外，它們味道很好。據(jù)說(shuō)，這種魚(yú)的白色果肉與某些鯛魚(yú)和石斑魚(yú)的味道相似。

In regions where they've become a problem, governments, conservation groups and even dive shops have been holding fishing tournaments and other promotions to try to make a dent in the crisis. Even the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched a campaign urging the public to "eat sustainable, eat lionfish!"

在這些地區(qū)，政府、環(huán)保組織甚至潛水商店都在舉辦釣魚(yú)比賽和其他促銷活動(dòng)，試圖在危機(jī)中有所作為。甚至美國(guó)國(guó)家海洋和大氣管理局(NOAA)也發(fā)起了一項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)，敦促公眾“可持續(xù)地吃獅子魚(yú)!”

Generally we'd bemoan the idea of eating an animal population into oblivion, but for the lionfish, and other invasive species of its ilk, conservation gastronomy may be the most effective solution. Other dwindling species are spared the fate of the plate, ecosystems are preserved, and people still get to eat.

一般來(lái)說(shuō)，我們會(huì)對(duì)這種將動(dòng)物種群吞噬殆盡的想法感到惋惜，但對(duì)于獅子魚(yú)和其他入侵物種來(lái)說(shuō)，保護(hù)美食或許是最有效的解決方案。其他正在減少的物種幸免于盤子的命運(yùn)，生態(tài)系統(tǒng)得以保存，人們?nèi)匀豢梢猿詵|西。