Lionfish may be beautiful, but they are eating their way through ecosystems across the Caribbean, where they have few predators. In Colombia, spear fishers are now catching them — and local restaurants are hoping that more people will start to eat these venomous creatures.
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00:00 Even when they're dead, lionfish are dangerous.
00:04 Chefs have to carefully remove their 18 venomous spines.
00:08 A sting can be very painful and even cause paralysis.
00:13 That's one of the reasons it's been hard to add lionfish to restaurant menus.
00:18 Even though the invasive species has terrorized the Caribbean,
00:22 eating everything in its path.
00:29 So for years, fishermen ignored them.
00:32 Until they no longer could.
00:34 They attack the baby fish, they unbalance the ecosystem in the coral reefs.
00:39 Spearfishers in places like Colombia are starting to have an impact.
00:44 But they'll never catch them all.
00:47 People have commented negatively attacking me, saying, "Why are you killing the fish?"
00:51 And I love it when they do that because it's like, "Come on in, let's tell you why. Let me tell you why."
00:58 So how bad is the lionfish problem really?
01:01 And what will it take to solve it?
01:04 Andres Felipe Valencia is taking a group of tourists from Santa Marta
01:15 on a hunt for one of Colombia's top marine predators.
01:19 Once they reach the coral reefs in Tijuana National Park,
01:26 they gear up and take the plunge.
01:29 Spearfishing is often the only way of catching the venomous lionfish.
01:38 And it's not always easy.
01:40 You have to kind of hold your breath, but your adrenaline's pumping and you're like, "Oh no, what do I do?"
01:44 And then you kind of float on in like he does when he goes to eat, and then release the spear.
01:50 Their stripes act as camouflage among the reefs,
01:53 where they prey on smaller fish and shrimp.
01:56 Divers aim for the lionfish's throat, head, or dorsal fin.
02:05 Then they remove its 18 venomous spines.
02:08 Jimmy Rosero once ended up in the hospital after getting too close.
02:22 I got buried a lot, my nail got damaged, my finger here.
02:26 The pain is very strong.
02:28 Since they started hunting in this area years ago, numbers have dropped.
02:33 But not this time.
02:41 I don't think there's going to be enough humans to care about this,
02:48 to be able to eradicate it completely.
02:50 But it does make a difference.
02:53 Spearing lionfish one at a time is slow and expensive.
03:02 But traditional fishing methods just won't work.
03:05 They usually don't go for bait on hooks.
03:08 And you can't use nets because they would risk damaging the reefs.
03:12 Lionfish can also swim down where divers can't reach them.
03:17 They've been found up to 1,000 feet deep,
03:20 far beyond a recreational diver's 130-foot limit.
03:24 But just 16 years ago, there weren't any here at all.
03:28 Lionfish are native to the Indian and South Pacific Oceans,
03:33 roughly 10,000 miles away from the Colombian coast.
03:37 They became popular in aquariums across North America in the 1980s
03:41 because of their striking appearance.
03:43 It's thought a few were released, and it didn't take long for their population in the wild to explode.
03:49 In fact, scientists have traced all the lionfish in the Caribbean,
03:53 Western Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico back to just 10 females.
03:57 Adolfo San Juan Muñoz has been researching marine ecology here for about 15 years.
04:11 In specific places like San Andrés,
04:13 we've been able to detect that in the first 20 meters of depth,
04:16 there are between one and three million lionfish.
04:19 In the span of a few years,
04:21 they spread from the coast of the U.S. to the Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean.
04:26 Giant eels will eat them.
04:29 But lionfish have far fewer predators here compared to their native waters.
04:34 While most reef fish only reproduce once a year,
04:38 lionfish can do so year-round.
04:40 And mature females can release roughly 30,000 eggs every four days for up to 15 years.
04:47 They also have a huge appetite,
04:49 feeding on more than 70 different species of fish and crustaceans.
04:53 And they can grow up to 18 inches.
04:56 One study from 2008 found that a single lionfish in a coral reef
05:01 can reduce the number of native fish by 79 percent,
05:04 including species that regulate algae growth.
05:07 So, reefs are hurting too.
05:10 Seven coral species in the Caribbean already have been listed as threatened
05:14 because of the lionfish boom.
05:16 Across the Caribbean, some lionfish programs have been more successful than others.
05:33 From Venezuela to Cuba, divers are starting to see how controlling the population can help.
05:38 The world's largest hunting competition is held off Florida's Gulf Coast.
05:52 In 2023, divers caught a record-breaking 30,494 lionfish throughout the four-month event.
05:59 But it's still a case of managing, not eradicating the problem.
06:04 A 2017 study estimated that invasive fish like lionfish carp and ruff
06:09 cost the U.S. over $2 billion a year.
06:12 In Colombia, fishermen feel they are fighting a losing battle.
06:20 Victor Rafael Quinto has been a fisherman here for over 25 years.
06:24 His traps used to be full of fish and lobster.
06:28 But these days, this is all he can find.
06:32 That's because lionfish not only feed on baby snapper,
06:35 but also outcompete grown ones for food.
06:38 And here in Palomino, the world's largest fish market is still struggling.
06:43 The fish market is a place where you can find all kinds of fish.
06:47 And it's a place where you can find all kinds of fish.
06:50 The fish market is a place where you can find all kinds of fish.
06:54 And it's a place where you can find all kinds of fish.
06:57 And it's a place where you can find all kinds of fish.
07:00 And here in Palomino, the water is too choppy to dive for them.
07:03 It's not that lionfish isn't sellable.
07:12 It goes for 30,000 pesos, or $7 per kilo,
07:16 roughly the same amount as grouper or red snapper.
07:19 Fishermen just aren't able to catch enough of them.
07:23 If you catch a kilo, it's not beneficial.
07:26 But if you catch 20 or 30 fish almost daily,
07:29 it's going to be beneficial for the whole fisherman.
07:32 And with fewer species at their disposal,
07:35 it's becoming difficult for fishermen to get by.
07:38 Especially when you throw a hard sell like lionfish into the mix.
07:41 For a few years now, a handful of restaurants in the area
07:46 have set out to prove the skeptics wrong.
07:49 Victor sells his catch to one called Siete Mares.
07:53 Chef Claribel Gorillou started serving lionfish about three years ago.
07:58 Even she had her doubts.
08:01 Now she buys 15 kilograms of lionfish per week.
08:17 I'm going to start by cutting all these thorns.
08:21 Here we start with the filleting.
08:30 It's made with garlic, onion, and herbs.
08:44 The name of the dish is "Salvar el Mar"
08:48 because we're looking for that.
08:52 She tops it off with spices, salt, and bulgur wheat.
08:57 Lionfish has a mild flavor, similar to shrimp or sea bass.
09:02 And more and more people are developing a taste for it.
09:06 Sal, from Siete.
09:12 Excuse me.
09:14 Once they try it, they feel happy to know that they're contributing
09:20 to the search for "Salvar el Mar" and to the economy of local fishermen.
09:25 Back at Tejrona National Park,
09:30 the diving crew heads to shore to cook up their own lionfish recipe.
09:34 Hello!
09:35 Hey!
09:36 Hello!
09:37 How did it go?
09:38 Look what I brought you.
09:39 You're the fish of the day.
09:42 Jairo Varela used to be a park ranger here.
09:46 Now he spends his time as an ecotourism guide,
09:49 preparing lionfish for others to try.
09:52 Today, he's making ceviche with it.
10:05 Let's see what's inside the stomach.
10:08 He hasn't eaten much, so his stomach is empty.
10:11 He's had a bad day.
10:13 So, it's as bad as he's going to the ceviche.
10:17 The dish is always a hit with tourists looking for fuel after a long day of diving.
10:22 How is it?
10:24 Very good.
10:25 Mmm. Oh my God.
10:28 This is real.
10:31 He takes the rest to grill on the barbecue.
10:34 Still, it's been difficult to create a steady market for lionfish.
10:42 Jairo says more people have been coming to hunt them,
10:45 but it hasn't been enough to turn the tide.
10:48 [Speaking Spanish]
10:51 [Speaking Spanish]
11:14 [Speaking Spanish]
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11:24 [Music]
11:28 [Horn honking]
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11:39 (gentle music)
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