Lionfish Podcasts

I met Dan by chance - we were both in Aruba at the same time but didn't know it. He is a Citizen Scientist wanting to find solutions for controlling the invasive lionfish. It was a great unexpected surprise that we could catch up.

Abigail is with Lionator Pole Spears in Aruba. Abigail has been working in the Aruban lionfish community for years and is passionate about marine conservation!

I met Teagan at the Tobacco Caye Marine Station in Belize while she was interning there. She mad a really cool discovery that changed the way we see lionfish. Enjoy meeting Teagan!

Roxy and her Lionfish PhD Project is an exciting new way of gathering information on ways to someday combat the invasive lionfish. Meet Roxy and her very creative project!

Sietske works at the Arikok National Park in Aruba. Arikok National Park lies on Aruba’s east coast. Conchi is a natural ocean pool sheltered by craggy rock formations. Beaches include Boca Prins and Dos Playa, a turtle nesting site. Caquetío Indian rock paintings adorn nearby Fontein Cave. Openings in the roof of Quadiriki Cave let in sunlight. An old adobe house at Cunucu Arikok recalls Aruba’s farming past. Jamanota and Arikok hilltops offer sweeping island views.

Aurba has a challenge removing lionfish from their waters and the national park is trying to help. Learn more about the park here: https://www.arubanationalpark.org/ 

When it comes to lionfish hunters on the island of Curacao, Lisette's name is among the conversations. She is the owner of Lionfish Caribbean, a jewelry company that uses fins from the invasive lionfish. Lisette is also the owner of Lionfish and Mangoes, a great culinary endeavor that encourages more people to eat the lionfish. She helps divers earn an income by selling their catch to her so she can cook and make more lionfish jewelry. It's a brilliant way to help protect the reefs from the lionfish.  

Meet Martin and Dick from Aruba! These 2 lionfish hunters are part of CLA - the Caribbean Lionfish Alliance. They work hard to protect the reefs from the invasive lionfish. We did this podcast at Lionfish Snack Aruba - a great and fitting place to talk about lionfish. Here is more information about CLA.

Protecting the reef for years to come. Caribbean Lionfish Alliance - CLA was founded by a group of hunters who became friends. A foundation to bring people, businesses and other foundations together to rid Aruba’s beautiful reef of the invasive lionfish.

As the tides change, so to do ideas, circumstances and opportunities. The constant in our story was a group of individual hunters that joined together their love for the ocean, love of scuba diving and the thrills that come from hunting the invasive lionfish. As time would have it, the group of hunters became friends; hunting together for several years. Their shared experiences led to the idea of starting a foundation which soon turned into a wonderful reality. CLA was officially recognized by Aruba on September 25th 2020 providing long-term opportunities for this group to grow and continue to bring people, businesses and other foundations together to rid Aruba’s beautiful reef of lionfish for the ultimate goal of protecting the reef for years to come.

The Lionfish Snack Aruba is one of the best ways to help remove lionfish from the Aruba waters! It is a unique place to have lunch or dinner and it's the most environmentally friendly food on the island when it comes to saving the reefs. Patrick is the owner and tell us his perspective of the lionfish around the island. Here is some information from Patrick's website: 

In 2017 I started with the idea to try and sell it myself. Building a snack truck beside my house and becoming the first takeaway on the island dedicated to prepare and sell this invasive specie. Loving nature and start living on Aruba 21 years ago I started scuba diving. Around 2007 was the first time I saw the LionFish in Aruba waters. The LionFish struck with me with its beauty, long feather like fins and beautiful colors. It was a few years later I learned how destructive the LionFish was for our local fish and even other animals in the Caribbean sea. The LionFish, brought to the Caribbean Sea by human wrongdoing….again we as humans were the reason for putting our nature under pressure. For now the only way to reduce the LionFish population is to shoot them with a pole-spear. A few years I have been shooting and selling the fish to local restaurants. To remember the locations and when I was there shooting the fish I started filming and archiving the dives. You can see these videos on YouTube: Hunting LionFish Aruba.

https://thelionfishsnackaruba.com/ 

Holden Harris is interested in applied research that guides natural resource management. His work currently focuses on innovative fisheries gear, including deepwater lionfish traps and self-releasing fishhooks; commercialized invasive species harvest and the developing lionfish fishery; and, applying ecosystem models to understand and forecast the effects of land-use and climate changes to coastal ecosystems and economies.

We sat down with Holden for a very informative discussion about lionfish. 

UNBELIZEABLUE is a modern documentary that follows a multigenerational group of inspiring women leaders in Belize striving to protect the country’s Barrier Reef Reserve System.

Focusing on the inherent conflict between conservation and exploitation of the world’s second largest coral reef system, the film highlights ways to protect Belize’s natural heritage while enabling communities to thrive in a sustainable way.

Featured characters include, among others, Janelle Chanona (Oceana), Nadia Bood (World Wildlife Fund), Beverly Wade (Ministry of Blue Economy), Janet Gibson (Wildlife Conservation Society), Lisa Carne (Fragments of Hope), Jen Chapman (Blue Ventures), Melanie McField (Smithsonian Healthy Reefs Initiative), Rachel Graham (MAR Alliance), Julie Robinson (The Nature Conservancy) and jewelry artists Kaj Assales and Palovi Baezar.

UNBELIZEABLUE aims to inspire, inform, and entertain global audiences. It will showcase breathtaking scenery, above and underwater, featuring music with a genuine Belizean vibe.

Humanity’s destructive impact on the environment is the existential issue of our times. Overwhelmed by doom and gloom scenarios from news headlines, the public yearns for positive and constructive examples of environmental stewardship.

Welcome to Belize, a small Caribbean nation recognized as a marine conservation model worldwide. Notably, women here lead virtually all the local and international NGOs tasked with the protection of the country’s marine resources and associated livelihoods.

Indeed, owing most of their livelihoods to the reef, either through fishing or tourism, Belizeans have taken bold measures to ban offshore oil exploration, eliminate gillnet fishing, restore coral gardens, and fight the invasive lionfish species.

In Belize, marine conservation is a local story with global appeal. A bright example that there is still hope for humanity to come together to coexist and thrive with the environment.