Lionfish Surprise

Invasive Lionfish Leggings and educational postcard - Feb 2024

Did you know that lionfish are delicious to eat?
​Neither did I - but apparently the taste is similar to snapper or grouper. Here are some recipes to get you started. No lionfish surprise on the list, but plenty of other tasty-sounding ideas. Ever been to a lionfish derby? This is a one-day event to collect - and remove - as many lionfish as possible. 

You might not even know what a lionfish is, let alone why the strategy of collect, remove, and consume. Lionfish are invasive. Of Indo-Pacific origins, they are the first non-native marine fish to become established in the Atlantic, and are a significant threat to marine ecosystems, according to the company Waterlust. And Waterlust’s Invasive Lionfish Leggings are the reason I am now in the lionfish-know.

When I was visiting Captiva recently with my family, we had a milestone day of adventure (read about it here) with Captain Jenni of Flipside Charters. I noticed that Captain Jenni had on super cool leggings in which she could hop in and out of the water - swim leggings. I checked out the link on her website for Waterlust, the company that makes the leggings, and a whole new world opened up for me. Partly because Waterlust is a force for positive in our world, and partly because I purchased my first pair of leggings, and they are the best leggings I’ve ever worn.

These leggings are amazing. Though I have not yet hit the water in them (they are swim leggings after all), I did live in them for the entire first weekend after picking them up from the PO. You can lounge, run, walk, hike, cook, do yoga, teach Essentrics and pretty much anything else your day entails - these leggings are up to the task.

The material is thick enough to be structurally sound (flattering), but flexible enough that you can move fluidly. 10% of the profits from the purchase of lionfish items support Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF - same place you can learn about the lionfish derbies.) These donations support their programs for research, early detection and ongoing plans for lionfish mitigation. 

You can view all the great-looking gear Waterlust offers (sunsuits, shorts, tanks, etc.) on their website. Different fabric designs highlight the different causes to which that particular item donates the 10%. 

Here are a few other reasons this company is doing it right:

• The clothing is made from recycled materials (eg., leggings are 88% RPET - Recycled Polyester made from post-consumer plastic bottles)
• Fabrics are UPF 50 sun protection
• The models on the Waterlust website are the researchers and scientists who do this work. 
• Items are shipped in responsibly-sized recycled packaging 
• After purchase a series of upbeat, educational emails are delivered to your in-box
• All of this for a very reasonable price. 

I’m excited to know about and support Waterlust and their quality products that benefit and educate. It is fitting that I learned about them from Captain Jenni, a Master Naturalist, whose work is educating people like my family and I, bringing awareness to conservation efforts for the plant and animal life on land and in water.