Caribbean - Off the reef and on the menu: fishers in the Caribbean wage war on the invasive lionfish
The lionfish has spread across reef ecosystems in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, where it feeds on eggs, small fish, crustaceans and molluscs
In Venezuela, tourists and fishing communities are being encouraged to catch and eat the lionfish before it wipes out other species
Beautiful, dramatically coloured and barbed with venomous spikes, the lionfish not only looks dangerous but is proving to be a grave threat to every other fish in the Caribbean. In Venezuela, William Álvarez, who lives in Chichiriviche de la Costa bay on the Caribbean country’s central coast, has made it his business to see off the threat. Each day, he removes them from the water one by one. He is also encouraging tourists and others in the fishing community to catch and eat the lionfish in an effort to control its voracious expansion. The species is decimating herbivorous fish that are important to coral reefs and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
“The sea is my livelihood and I know what is happening: the lionfish is wiping out other species and there is no one to control it, so every time I go into the sea with my harpoon it is an opportunity to remove them,” says Álvarez, 37, after a day of fishing.
Lionfish were unintentionally introduced to the region from the Indian and Pacific oceans, where they coexist with natural predators such as large moray eels, sharks, groupers and toadfish.
But in the Caribbean Sea there are no natural predators. The bright orange, brown and black lines that cover the lionfish’s body, along with its poison-laden spikes, serve as a warning to other species that consider feeding on it. Some fish flee upon seeing it.
“It is not easy to catch. If it gets caught in a net, you run the risk of getting hurt by one of its barbs and then you’ll be unable to work for several days,” says Rafael Mayora, 26, who often works with Álvarez. “That’s why many fishers simply decide not to go near it. Its presence is also a risk for tourists.”
Humans are predators par excellence and I think, in this case, we are the only ones who can help.
William Álvarez
Because fishers tend to avoid the species, and because it breeds so rapidly – laying up to 30,000 eggs every four days – there has been a noticeable rise in numbers. The best technique to catch them, says Álvarez, is to use a spear or harpoon, but that is a time-consuming process.
“You can’t just cast a net and pull them all out, you have to spear them one by one, only some divers and spear fishermen do that,” he says.
“I’m worried. I know it’s an emergency situation, because when I go to some caves that I haven’t checked before, sometimes I find more lionfish than other species because they eat the small fish before their reproductive age, which is critical.”
Álvarez is promoting the catching and consumption of this species through his social networks and pushing the idea among tourists and local people.
