CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- A couple of divers from South Carolina are proposing a way to deal with the spiny, venomous lionfish that have invaded the waters off the state's coast.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reports Vic Depuis and Nate Tarpein hope to create a market for the fish by getting divers to hunt lionfish and sell them to seafood outlets.
They have designed a collection bag and are rigging spearfish gear for use by commercial fishermen when a retail market develops. They say lionfish taste like triggerfish.
The lionfish are native to the western Pacific and have been destroying native fish populations on offshore reefs. Scientists think lionfish entered the Atlantic when Hurricane Andrew cracked open a private oceanside aquarium in Miami in 1992, and six of them escaped.
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