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This story is written by

KARAN MINNIS, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter.

Fear, an emotion that can stop many from venturing outside their comfort zone, and trying new things. It is this emotion that has stopped Bahamians from consuming the Lionfish, because all they've heard is that it is a danger to marine life in our waters.

But conservationist and fisherman, Alexander Maillis II, a lawyer by profession, encourages Bahamians to put their fear aside, and give the Lionfish a try.

"The Lionfish is something that people have heard very little about except that it is poisonous and a danger to our marine life, but what many do not know is that the Lionfish is also a highly prized table fish half-way across the globe," says Maillis.

"The Lionfish, which is actually native to Asia, has been found along the Eastern United States for at least a decade. Some research puts the first Florida sighting in the mid-80s, but the local research group REEF (Reef Environment Education Foundation) hadn't reported a sighting of the versatile predators here until four years ago. Since then, REEF has witnessed a 500-fold explosion in the local Lionfish population, and according to them there's no telling how much damage the voracious predators might do as they eat a variety of local juvenile marine resources including grouper and lobster."

Adding that although researchers differ on the extent to which the Lionfish will affect the overall commercial fishing and diving operations in The Bahamas, Maillis wants to sound alarms now, before things have a chance to get any worse, but he also says that public knowledge on the fish is key.

In an effort to educate the public, a meeting will be held tonight at 7 o'clock at The Retreat, Village Road, with the topic: "Can Lionfish Be Our Next Fishery Resource.

"The purpose of this exercise that will include various demonstrations will be to educate people that the Lionfish is not a death sentence, that it can and is handled regularly and safely by fisherman. Personally, I have handled thousands and never once been stung. So I just want people to know that the lion fish is highly edible and quite delicious," said Maillis.

"Additionally, I know that if everyone who goes out for grouper, hogfish and lobster learn to add to or supplement their catch by taking every adult Lionfish, then we will make an impact on the speed at which the Lionfish is spreading its range, and the rate at which they can effect our native marine resources," he said.

During tonight's meeting, Lakeshia Anderson of the Department of Marine Resources will make a presentation on the natural history of the Lionfish and Maillis will demonstrate on how to clean, and fry the Lionfish for consumption.

"When the Lionfish showed up in our waters about four years ago, my brother, Peter, was actually the first to spear one, and I remember being jealous that he had the opportunity to spear such an exotic creature, and from then, when we would see these fish we would kill them thinking we were doing nature a service — which we are. But about a year ago a cousin of mine decided that he was going to eat one and I got worried. So I went to research the fish and when I Googled it, I was shocked to learn that Lionfish are considered a prized table fish in the Indo-Pacific Rim. When I read on I found that the toxin is only present in the dorsal and anal spines of the fish and it is not present in the meat. Therefore the meat is edible," said Maillis.

He added that the fish's poison is also heat sensitive, once cooked. Maillis said that even if the toxin were present in the fish meat, it would be rendered null and void.

According to Maillis, not only can the Lionfish be eaten, but it is also delicious.

"What happens is that the heat breaks down the toxin into a harmless protein, thus making it edible. My family has proved this time and again, and we love it. However, it wasn't until after my cousin's experiment and my research that my family began harvesting the Lionfish for our own consumption. This was when we realized that one of the answers to the Lionfish problem would be to teach others to do likewise and encourage, if possible, a commercial market," said Maillis.

Maillis'' aunt, Alexandra Lynch, the owner of the August Moon Cafe in the Lyford Cay Plaza, has even placed Lionfish on her menu.

"The problem we find is that people will react negatively to the Lionfish and we want to change that. We've learnt over the last 18 months to two years is that the fish can be handled in a safe manner, so we know that the fishermen are at no risk when holding the Lionfish, and that it is edible. It is this knowledge that we want to pass on to everyone in The Bahamas. Sustained pressure on the adults will slow down their spread, will diminish their range and ultimately reduce the population to controllable levels and that is what we want to accomplish though education."

Ask for recipes, Lynch says that the Lionfish can be cooked anyway that any other fish can — grilled, seared, fried, steamed, or boiled.

"However we have found that its flavor is extremely delicate and is best lightly cooked and not curried, stewed, or plakied, but there are no hard and fast rules of course. So I suggest just being bold and experimenting."

At August Moon it is served with a Voodoo Cocktail Sauce with Goat Pepper Salsa, Bahamian Cocktail Mayo and Lime Wedges.

* Note: Lynch's recipes are free hand, this includes all measurements. Additionally, these recipes were not created by professional recipe writers.

At August Moon it is served with either a Wasabi Aioli/Nam Prik/Mango-Chili Sambal or what Alexandria Maillis feels like at the moment.

Prepare the fish by lightly washing and patting dry. Prepare the marinade, a mixture of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, freshly ground pepper, kosher salt and oregano. Marinate as per your time allowance but up to 1 day Heat cast iron pan to smoking hot (no additional oil is needed) Place fillet on hot pan. Sear until brown, flip and cook other side. Serve with lemon.

At August Moon it is served with Skordalia (a very garlicky Greek dip) or a Greek Onion?Garlic/Parsley/Lime Juice/Olive Oil/Salt and Pepper Sauce.