Those familiar with the lionfish might be incredulous that anybody would actually eat one.
That didn't stop Aiken High school senior Sophie Nance from having three servings in Charleston this week.
"I ate it until I was full," she said. "It reminds of crab somehow. I might ask for it again."
The lionfish is venomous, but only in its spine, so cooking it properly is essential. Science teacher Edna Mills took her marine science students on a field trip, visiting the South Carolina Aquarium and going trawling in Fort Johnson. The more adventurous students then tried out the lionfish at Fleet Landing Restaurant.
The fish is native to areas in the Indian Ocean. Research has indicated that a handful of people in southernmost Florida brought them to the East Coast before releasing them in the ocean at some point.
That's all it took. In a relatively short period, lionfish have reached far up the coast and along the Caribbean into the coasts of Colombia and Venezuela.
The lionfish, a colorful, but highly invasive species, can reach 18 inches in length, said Lauren Pisner. One female can release 25,000 eggs 91 times a year. The fish has predators in the Indian Ocean, among them sharks and large groups. They have no such predators along the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, but are prodigious predators themselves - eating shrimp and crabs whole and nearly 60 other species.
For lunch, however, said Lauren Grimm with a grin, "We're were trying to reduce the (lionfish) population."
Mills is retiring this spring after 37 years as a science teacher - the last 26 at Aiken High.
"I first had her for biology, and it really interested me," said Holly Roach. "She brings a different way to teaching. Most teachers wouldn't take us on a field trip, would just show us a video."
Mills' own passion for science began in the eighth grade. She had impacted any number of students. Emylee Sarka is planning to wildlife biology and veterinary science. Burgess too is considering biology or veterinary science.
"The kids are wonderful, and so are all the teachers," she said. "I love what I do, so this is a bittersweet time."
Rob Novit is the education reporter for the Aiken Standard.