Lionfish are invasive species in Jamaica, but successful population control is coming at the hands of a powerful predator - humans.
The first fish came from tropical fish of aquariums that were released into the wild and quickly multiplied in the warm waters pushing out native species.
Lionfish destroy stocks of other fish populations by eating young native fish, they also cause havoc to reefs and other local eco-systems.
Fishermen, wary of the poisonous spines on the fish, rarely caught the animals and rarely brought them to market. These appendages can deliver an extremely powerful sting. This selective fishing compounded the environmental problem, because humans and lionfish were both preying on other species, while the invasive predator was not kept in check by humans.
"After learning how to handle them, the fishermen have definitely been going after them harder, especially spear fishermen. I believe persons here have caught on to the whole idea of consuming them," Dayne Buddo, a Jamaican marine ecologist, said in an interview.
Fishing shops sponsored contests to see who could capture the greatest numbers of lionfish, in an effort to drive numbers down.
Markets are now regularly stoked with lionfish filets and a new-found appetite among the population for the fish is helping to drive down populations of the invasive species.
The National Environment and Planning Agency in Jamaica announced a 66 percent drop in sightings of the invasive fish once people began eating the animals in large numbers.
A campaign aimed at wiping out the species around the island nation has the motto "eat sustainable, eat lionfish!" That push was sponsored by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Lionfish are native to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In the Atlantic and the Caribbean, there are no species known which prey on lionfish. Marine biologists are not certain what keeps their numbers in check in their native habitat.
Reducing lionfish populations by 75 to 95 percent made it possible for native species of fish to come back quickly, based on a study from researchers at Oregon State University.
Fewer lionfish seen indicates the animals are less prevalent in than before in shallow waters, but the fish are still regularly found in deeper waters.
"I don't think we'll ever get rid of it, but I think for the most part we can control it, especially in marine protected areas where people are going after it very intensively and consistently," Buddo told the press.
