Lionfish Podcasts (The Lionfish Community )

Lisa is the Executive Director of the History of Diving Museum in Islamorada in the beautiful Florida Keys. She is an avid scuba diver and a great friend of the Lionfish Community. She has even helped us with our submarine project and was instrumental for helping us get our first dives up and running. 

About the museum - Over a span of forty years, Drs. Joe and Sally Bauer acquired one of the world’s largest collections of diving helmets, hand-operated air pumps, armored suits, lights and other accessory gear, plus memorabilia, prints, photographs, books, film and video. Their passion took them to virtually every corner of the world and the Museum’s collection now represents the contributions of more than 30 countries to diving history.

As their research evolved and collections grew, the Bauers were inspired by the idea of using their collection—which had become one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world—as the basis for a museum to share their knowledge and passion for diving history with the public. Following the Bauers’ retirement, they moved permanently from Cleveland, Ohio to the Florida Keys, the perfect location to establish what became The History of Diving Museum.

https://www.divingmuseum.org/ 

Shamika is a local Belizean who came to Tobacco Caye Marine Station to intern. She helped with the islands largest lionfish tournament ever! She helped measure, gather data, dissect lionfish and a lot more. She filled me in on some of the local cultures and ways of life in Belize and was great to hang out with for a few days!

Intern Leah At Tobacco Caye Marine Station Belize. We had the opportunity to spend a few days at the marine station and work with Leah. She was part of a huge project of documenting over 600 lionfish and here's what she had to say about that.

Alex Fogg is well known in the lionfish world. His work in the pan handle part of Florida is wide and varied from deploying artificial reefs to cleaning up those reefs of lionfish. 

Scott Cassell has had an incredible life in the ocean and continues to fight for making it a better healthier place. Learn about his submersible that we will be using to hunt lionfish at depths where diver's can't go.

Meet Reza, one of the inventors of StingMaster. We spoke with him at DEMA in 2021. In 2016, Reza was on an airplane, reading the in-flight magazine, when he came across an article describing the invasion of the lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the fish’s excruciatingly painful sting. Having worked on a Texas coral snake venom in the past, and mostly being a curious scientist, he checked the literature to see if anyone had figured out exactly how this venom works to cause pain, but his search came up empty.

Fast forward to 2017, when he proposed a project to a student in his lab, Stephanie: figure out how lionfish venom causes pain. She accepted the challenge, and they managed to make a major breakthrough that they published in a paper in 2018, which was the cover of the November issue of the scientific, peer-reviewed journal PAIN, outlining exactly what kind of pain lionfish venom causes, what pain-sensing cells it targets, and began to uncover its mechanism of action.

Ian is a 6 year old Ocean Explorer and my best buddy in the Keys! He's full of energy and just the coolest kid around. He is also John Mirabella son so when we all hang out it's usually Ian and I getting into time outs! He had been wanting to go in the sub since we started this project and we finally had the chance to get him in it. This is one of the shortest podcasts we've done but I must say it was one of my favorite! Ian's energy is so fun!

Nate started a nonprofit when he learned about the invasive lionfish. He works hard to help keep his reefs as free of lionfish as possible. That's a huge task considering our large the ocean is even in his area. He is an incredible tattoo artist and between the 2 he stays very busy. We met a few years ago briefly but stayed in touch over the last few years. His passion for the ocean is great and his efforts are greater!

Ivana from Sunny Curacao is someone who is passionate about the oceans and removing lionfish from them. Listen to her great advice and the passion she has to save the reefs.

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!

John Mirabella of Castaway Waterfront Restaurant and Sushi Bar sat down with us at Seacamp where we were holding a Submersible Training course. Castaway is located in Marathon and is one of the only restaurants that has lionfish on the menu full time!

The Castaway was originally built in 1951 and known for many years as a place to get beer and shrimp steamed in beer.  After all, in 1951 there were many shrimp boats parked a stones throw from the restaurant and if you never met a shrimper, the you probably don’t know it but them boys can drink some beer.

In 1999 John sailed into Marathon, Florida ending a voyage that began in Los Angeles. He bought the restaurant and began a new adventure, oh yeah, he also quit his job, sailed the boat and moved to the fabulous Florida Keys.

Now decades later The Castaway is busy again but with an expanded menu featuring all the S’s. Seafood, Steaks, Sushi, and of course Spirits and as of today now serving 32 BEERS ON TAP.  Seating is indoor and outdoor on the water and service includes breakfast, lunch and dinner 5 days a week.

If you are hungry, or thirsty or want to talk to a Captain about fishing, stop in and see us.  We are located at MM48, at the end of 15th St, Oceanside in Marathon.  Reservations are always accepted.

https://castawayfloridakeys.com/

If you follow any of the lionfish community posts on social media or YouTube you've probably seen Julie's posts. She goes by the name SaltyLocs. She is passionate about hunting lionfish and protecting the reefs both in Florida and in St Thomas. She is also a character in the Lionfish Reef Heroes comic book. In fact, she is the only character that was not made into a cartoon - instead we used her SaltyLocs logo because it was so cool! We have talked and emailed and social media texted for a couple of years so it was great to finally get together to meet in person and do the podcast! 

If you've ever bought lionfish jewelry from Belize you've probably heard of Kaj. She is the founder of Kaj Expressions and she specializes in lionfish jewelry. We sat down in Antigua where she was teaching some lionfish jewelry classes for the locals. This was on the weekend of the Antigua Open - the country's first major tournament and festival. 

https://www.kajexpressions.com/

If you've ever looked into the lionfish community you will have heard of Lionfish University. They are the gold standard for specific lionfish work throughout the world. We sat down with Jim and Stacy, 2 of the founders of lionfish University and had a great conversation. This is by far the longest podcast we have done and it is worth listening to. Here's a little information about the founders.

Jim Hart: James is a screenwriter with numerous writing and producing credits including Hook!, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Contact, Sahara, August Rush, Crossbones, Epic, The Hot Zone, The HartChart Story Mapping Tool and others.

While working on a lionfish thriller screenplay he became interested in the impact that Lionfish are having on reef systems and on people as a geo-political and social problem in the small island nations of the Caribbean. Hart lives in NYC when he is not diving. Jim’s IMDb page.

Stacy Frank: Stacy has been an avid SCUBA diver since 1973 and lives to dive. She has a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and lives in Las Vegas with her husband.

It became clear during research for a lionfish thriller screenplay that our Caribbean reefs are being threatened by many factors, including the invasive IndoPacific lionfish. Stacy firmly believes that now is the time to face this nemesis.

Courtney Platt: Courtney is a Caymanian professional photographer who has made over 5,000 dives in Grand Cayman since 1983. He is a personal witness to the effect that over-fishing has had on our diving tourism product.

An ardent proponent to reversing that trend, he is equally concerned about the additional burden that the lionfish invasion places on reef fish recovery.

https://lionfishuniversity.org/ 

https://www.facebook.com/lionfishuniversity 

Part Two of our continued conversation with Ocean Explorer and Submersible Pilot Scott Cassell.

Dr Goodbody-Gringley is CCMI's Director of Research, heading up CCMI’s Vision 2025 Reef Resilience and Restoration Research team. Previously, Dr Goodbody-Gringley was an Assistant Scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) where she led the Reef Ecology and Evolution Laboratory.  

Dr Goodbody-Gringley's research focuses on population structure, reproductive ecology, and genetic connectivity of a variety of organisms that inhabit tropical coral reef ecosystems ranging from inshore shallow reefs down to the mesophotic zone, with the goal of understanding how ecosystems function in order to maintain biodiversity. To address questions related to reef health, evolution, resilience, and recovery, she combines large-scale in situ ecological surveys, small-scale laboratory experiments, and molecular ecology. Dr Goodbody-Gringley’s current projects include a collaboration with A. Trembanis from the University of Delaware using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in combination with technical diving to map deep reef systems and couple the physical environment with biological communities. She is also working with H. Putnam from the University of Rhode Island and J. Bruno from the University of North Carolina to determine thermal tolerances of corals to climate change and the capacity for corals to adapt over a single generation. In 2019, she traveled to Israel to work with T. Mass from Haifa University to explore how patterns of development differ between corals on shallow and deep reefs in the Red Sea.  

Gretchen completed her BSc at the University of Georgia and her Ph.D. at Harvard University in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. She then held postdoctoral positions at Mote Marine Laboratory and University of Bologna, Italy. Gretchen has a broad background in benthic marine ecology and is particularly interested in the evolution of life history strategies and how that in turn serves to structure population dynamics and maintain genetic diversity. 

SeaWorld Orlando Senior Aquarist Dan has what most ocean lovers would call a dream job! His work keeping all the aquarium fish and invertebrates healthy is a never ending passion for him. We sat down with Dan on location and talked about the work it takes to keep everything running at the best performance level.

Lionfish Bling with Phil Karp, a Citizen Scientist. Phil has a vast amount of information, connections and experience around the world when it comes to helping locals improve their lives by working with more resources - lionfish fins. Yes, Lionfish jewelry is becoming more and more popular and Phil has the entire story!

Well it's that time of year again were I get to catch up with Ivana from sunny Curacao! Ivana is the owner of Pro Dive Vibes and she gives us an update on what's happened in the past year - and wow has she been busy!

Peter From Tobacco Caye Paradise Belize. If you're on Tobacco Caye and your scuba diving you're probably going to be working with Peter. He runs the diving on the island and also participated in the Tobacco Caye Lionfish Tournament. He is outgoing and has the energy to make sure every dive is a great one!

Stephanie completed her BSc in Physiology at McGill University and is now a PhD Candidate at McGill University. She is the recipient of the prestigious Vanier Scholarship from the Canadian Institute for Health Research and is one of 3 Canadians invited to attend the 2020 Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference. For the past 3 years, her PhD research has focused on studying lionfish venom to understand how it causes so much pain on a molecular level.

The Incredible Seacamp with Camp Director Judy. Seacamp hosted our Submersible Operations course on property. It was the perfect setting for a course like this. If you ever get the chance to experience Seacamp - take it! It will create a memory of a lifetime!

Seacamp is just 30 miles from Key West in the beautiful Florida Keys, Seacamp shows the way to the sense of wonder within you that will last a lifetime. Through its marine science program, underwater exploration and study beckon you to a world apart.

Blue water and coral canyons teeming with invertebrates, fishes and mammals will enrich your understanding of that larger, watery portion of our planet where not only tomorrow will live ... but you, as well!

Seacamp is minutes from the only living coral reef in all America. Here you can see an almost endless variety of marine life forms as they existed eons ago, before some emerged from the sea to become mammal ... and man.

Seacamp is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and your donations are tax deductible. Click here to donate or learn more.

James From Tobacco Caye Marine Station in Belize ran one of the coolest and most incredible marine science internship opportunities. Students of all ages from all over the world have studied there. Tobacco Caye is a beautiful small island with the population of about 30 residents. Going there to study and help protect the reefs in the area is a must for anyone wanting to learn more about marine conservation. It will change your life.

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.

Submersible Operations at Seacamp with students Blaine, Salty Locs, Rachael and Dennis. We had a great conversation about the training and operations of the Lionfish Patrol Submersible. A special thank you to Seacamp for letting us host this course at their beautiful location in Big Pine Key Florida.

Submarine Reality

There are many realities when it comes to the submersible/submarine space. Here are the top 3 that prevents people to pursuing their career as an ocean explorer. 

1. A new submarine/submersible for personal use starts around 3 million dollars. The realty is most people will not be purchasing one of these anytime soon.
2. There are only a few opportunities around the world to get a submersible pilot job and those are filled by pilots with hundreds, if not thousands of hours of experience.
3. You can get trained on these expensive submarines if you want to spend in excess of $30,000 or more but what does that mean? Your 12 hours of training experience probably won’t get you an interview for any of these cool positions around the world.

You don’t need to spend millions of dollars to purchase a submersible/submarine. You also don’t need to spend in excess of $30,000 to get 12 hours of experience operating one. There are alternative way to explore the oceans depths. Our training gives you the tools and hands-on experience to get into the submersible space for a fraction of the cost of the expensive ones. Realistically you can find a small submarine and have it sea worth for less than a new or used boat. This is the reality that we focus on in our courses.

We want more people hunting lionfish in the waters deeper than divers can go. We want more citizen scientists protecting the reefs from the invasive lionfish. Our submersible/submarine courses are designed to help those who want to make a difference possible. Unleash your passion and help us save the reefs!

We have developed Submarine Courses to inspire future marine conservationists! We have put together 3 courses that are packed with knowledge and hands-on experience. These courses helps you go through the process of becoming a submarine pilot and put that knowledge to work. Join us on this important mission!

Submarine Courses We have developed Submarine Courses to inspire future marine conservationists! We have put together 3 courses that are packed with knowledge and hands-on experience. These courses helps you go through the process of becoming a submarine pilot and put that knowledge to work. Join us on this important mission!

Marine Conservation Projects and Education Schedule and Weekly Itinerary

All new arrivals to the island will complete week 1 schedule while on the island.  Those who are with us as rollovers (volunteers with us multiple weeks in a row) will be on our cycle two, three, and four schedules.  Please click on the links below to see each detailed weekly schedule that includes dives, conservation presentation topics, and meals.

• Marine Conservation Education Program
• Week 1 Schedule/Itinerary
• Cycle 2 Schedule/Itinerary
• Cycle 3 Schedule/Itinerary
• Cycle 4 Schedule/Itinerary

About ReefCI: A Registered NGO/Non-Profit

ReefCI has been developing and working on a wide variety of marine conservation projects to protect the Belize Barrier Reef and ocean ecosystem for over 14 years.  ReefCI is a registered non-profit in the USA as well as a registered NGO in Belize.  Since 2006, ReefCI through our volunteer citizen-scientist projects, has fought to protect the ocean and improve coral reef ecosystems.  However, ReefCI cannot do it alone, we need your help.  Individually, we are one drop.  Together, we are an ocean.

How We Are Funded

Our work is funded through environmentally minded eco-volunteers, like yourself, who come to our unique island in Belize to assist in our marine conservation projects and protect the underwater world we love.  Without your help and funding, ReefCI would not be possible.  Our volunteers truly are the change they wish to see in the world.  Join us and make a difference!

Meet Luis from Reef Conservation International (ReefCI) empowers you to take an active role in directly protecting and conserving our oceans that we love via our marine conservation projects and environmental education and awareness program. ReefCI’s conservation work is funded through environmentally minded eco-volunteers, like yourself, who go to their unique island in Belize to assist in our marine conservation projects that protect the underwater world we love. Without your help and funding, ReefCI would not be possible. Their volunteers truly are the change they wish to see in the world. Join ReefCI and make a difference!

During DEMA in Orlando I got a chance to sit down with Job from AB Dive in Bonaire. We talked about the challenges of lionfish hunting due to the rules on the island. 

The best Lionfish Crew in Belize that week was Sal, Phil, Anthony and Willie! They did a great job of building, testing and deploying lionfish traps in Belize! Meet the crew that made it such a success!

Lisette and Dunja sit down to recap the trip and Curacao Lionfish Derby. It was an incredible trip and spending time with these 2 lionfish hunters was amazing. 

Lionfish Hunting with 10 Year Old Thomas in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao! Not many kids get to hunt lionfish, not to mention do it in such exotic places! Thomas went on our Lionfish Expedition to the ABC's off of Venezuela. He got to dive with the best divers on Aruba and Curacao and he did great!

We sat down with Thomas while on the cruise for this podcast and it was a fun experience. His honesty was refreshing and the trip and podcast was a great time.

Submersible Operations Students Amy, Lisa and Christine at Seacamp. Another group of students tell us their experience with the Submersible Operations course. A special thank you to Seacamp for letting us host this course at their beautiful location in Big Pine Key Florida.

Submarine Reality

There are many realities when it comes to the submersible/submarine space. Here are the top 3 that prevents people to pursuing their career as an ocean explorer.A new submarine/submersible for personal use starts around 3 million dollars. The realty is most people will not be purchasing one of these anytime soon.

There are only a few opportunities around the world to get a submersible pilot job and those are filled by pilots with hundreds, if not thousands of hours of experience.

You can get trained on these expensive submarines if you want to spend in excess of $30,000 or more but what does that mean? Your 12 hours of training experience probably won’t get you an interview for any of these cool positions around the world.You don’t need to spend millions of dollars to purchase a submersible/submarine. You also don’t need to spend in excess of $30,000 to get 12 hours of experience operating one. There are alternative way to explore the oceans depths. Our training gives you the tools and hands-on experience to get into the submersible space for a fraction of the cost of the expensive ones. Realistically you can find a small submarine and have it sea worth for less than a new or used boat. This is the reality that we focus on in our courses. We want more people hunting lionfish in the waters deeper than divers can go. We want more citizen scientists protecting the reefs from the invasive lionfish. Our submersible/submarine courses are designed to help those who want to make a difference possible. Unleash your passion and help us save the reefs! We have developed Submarine Courses to inspire future marine conservationists! We have put together 3 courses that are packed with knowledge and hands-on experience. These courses helps you go through the process of becoming a submarine pilot and put that knowledge to work. Join us on this important mission!

Submarine Courses

We have developed Submarine Courses to inspire future marine conservationists! We have put together 3 courses that are packed with knowledge and hands-on experience. These courses helps you go through the process of becoming a submarine pilot and put that knowledge to work. Join us on this important mission!

Celso is with Blue Ventures Conservation in Belize. We work with Celso to help bring tools to better control the lionfish populations throughout belize.

Belize’s marine environment encompasses some of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the Caribbean Sea, including vast coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Blue Ventures has maintained a permanent presence in Belize since 2010, supporting diverse fisheries and conservation efforts.

They work in close partnership with the Belize Fisheries Department, MPA managers, fishing cooperatives and fishers’ associations, and championed the establishment of a national scale domestic fishery targeting the invasive lionfish.  They are actively promoting community led fisheries management, building on the success of our pioneering work with management of invasive lionfish.

https://blueventures.org/where-we-work/#belize

Shikha and Sadie were volunteers at ReefCI for one of the weeks I was there. This is their story.

Environmental and Social Goals

ReefCI has been and will continue to be focused on our hands-on conservation projects that protect the millions of species that rely on healthy functioning marine ecosystems. ReefCI firmly believes that hands-on education and activism is a key component in maintaining a sustainable future for humankind. To that end, ReefCI provides the experiential learning through our volunteer-based conservation projects, which will enable global citizens to impact decisions about conservation and world issues.  We encourage everyone to become a part of our community of people who care about the future of our planet’s oceans.

Robert Renfrow is an avid lionfish hunter and is our guest host on the Lionfish Podcast. He does a lot for the lionfish community to help spread the message about lionfish.

It’s About Education!

Lionfish are invasive and in order to find real solutions to deal with them we need to continually educate the public. We are part of Lionfish Central, a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to providing tools for all sectors of the lionfish community.

We will use this platform as a way to educate about everything lionfish, We will also utilize this to make updates on the many projects we have going on throughout the 4 regions hit the hardest – The Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Join us and help make a difference in saving the reefs and the reef fish that populate them!

Sal Delello President of ReefSave Inc

The current version of Dr. Giddings Purse Trap resolves the FAD drag problem by using a flat panel allowing flat closing of the jaws on deployment. A float was added to the line to the surface that keeps the FAD erect, and a ring was added at the top of the FAD to assure complete closure of the trap. Extra netting was added to cause the netting to billow out when pulled to the surface. Billowing keep the lionfish near the FAD until the jaws were completely closed.

Dr Steve Gittings is a scientist with NOAA and is very involved in the Lionfish Community. His work is well known throughout the marine conservation community.

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.

Why This Film

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.

Becca and Bea Volunteers at Reef Conservation International empowers you to take an active role in directly protecting and conserving our oceans that we love via our marine conservation projects and environmental education and awareness program. You will learn about the invasive lionfish species that is destroying our native coral reefs and participate in our dives to spearfish and remove this incredibly destructive species.  You will also learn all about coral reefs, tropical fish, sharks, manatees, dolphins and many other species from tiny invertebrates to the largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark. You will participate in our marine conservation identification dives to discover the wonders of the marine world.  We also cover many more topics from ocean acidification, climate change, to global warming and you will discover things you can do to combat these issues.  Join us and make a difference!

Intern Theresa At Tobacco Caye Marine Station in Belize. Theresa is the perfect example of someone who comes to Tobacco Caye Marine Station to help make a difference in the world. Her work is not in the marine science space but she took this working vacation to help make a difference on the reefs around Tobacco Caye.

Meet Arnold Postell from the South Carolina Aquarium and their first ever JuLionfish Derby! They recently finished their lionfish derby and festival and it was a great success. We sat down for a great conversation about lionfish in South Carolina and the efforts the Aquarium is trying to achieve. 

Reef Conservation International (ReefCI) gives you the opportunity to learn about reef ecosystems and help conserve and protect the reef by directly helping us with our marine conservation projects all while having a fun holiday/vacation!

People coming on this type of volunteer experience have a shared passion for diving and ocean conservation, which makes for great group dynamics. We give you the unique opportunity to learn about and help conserve the coral reef and ocean while having a fun volunteer experience.  ReefCI trips are for beginners and experienced scuba divers and those wishing to become certified divers.  Everyone contributes regardless of their background or experience.  You will be spearing the invasive lionfish and participating in our other conservation dives and making a difference!

Meet Angi. She is one of the coolest characters when it come to marine conservation. Her entire life has been around and in the ocean. Even her work keeps her living her passion and dream when it comes to being one with the ocean. She is also a character in the comic book Lionfish Reef Heroes.

Dianny is a marine conservationist in her home island of Caye Caulker Belize. She works hard to help keep their reefs safe and healthy by focusing on the removal of lionfish.

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/ 

Taylor Worked at Tobacco Caye Marine Station in Belize for the summer. We got to work with her for the last few days of her term there. She is one of the few who make the Marine Station such a success. Her enthusiasm and dedication shows in everything she does!

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. 

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/ 

Boukje is the co-owner of Private Divers Bonaire and is one of the best companies to go lionfish hunting with! She is an instructor and offers all kinds of diving certifications and training. They are one of our Lionfish Expeditions if you want to hunt lionfish around the world.

https://www.privatediversbonaire.com/ is their website or you can find them on https://www.lionfishcentral.org as well

The Antigua Open Lionfish Tournament and Festival took place in November of 2022. It was 3 years in the making due to Covid lockdowns and restriction. The event had a great turnout and the islanders came together to help make this the biggest one to date. From children to the elderly, everyone came out to learn, taste, view and win prizes - lots of them. Steven was one of the person's that helped organize this event and secure the funding along with other islanders. He and his wife also hosted Holden Harris and I while we were there to run the event. They were so gracious and great to be around and they really made this event and the trip enjoyable. We can't thank them enough for all they did. Here is a conversation I had with Steven about the event and other marine environmental projects. 

Mark and Maaika are from Holland and we met while we were helping with a lionfish tournament on Tobacco Caye Belize. They had quite the travel adventure and were finishing it up when we met. They are a great example of someone visiting Tobacco Caye and getting involved with the Marine Station and making their trip there that much more impactful.

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!

I recently did some work on Tom Owen's Cay in Belize with ReefCI. It was an amazing experience then being off the grid working with everyone from the organization. https://reefci.com/

Avid Lionfish Hunter! YouTuber. Fishing fanatic. Experienced Operations Superintendent in the Defense & Space industry. Skilled in Emergency Management, Personnel Management, Team Building, Weapons Training, Government, Law Enforcement, Operational Planning, and Accident Investigation.

Anthony Valiulis: CSO

Anthony works to make sure we always have lionfish in supply for you! He is also the one planning out our future products that will help restore our oceans! He is a driving force when it comes to removing lionfish from the reefs by creating jobs and opportunities for locals to better their income by saving the reefs! 

I met Farra and Joline who are a couple of Freediving Lionfish Hunters in Curacao. They are doing their part to save the reefs from the invasive lionfish. While most of the lionfish hunters use SCUBA they do not. Freediving is a lot harder to do and you usually catch less. Theur story is inspiring and I'm grateful that I got the chance to meet them both!

Tiffany Duong is an Ocean Explorer who gets stories about her adventures to hungry readers around the world. She heard about our submersible project and stopped by for a couple of days to learn more.

Her mission is to involve and inspire others to see our world in an entirely different way – and to want to save it.

She hold degrees from UCLA (international development) and University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (climate, refugee, environmental law) and is a trained climate reality leader with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. She lectures at the University of Miami Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and writes for the Keys Weekly Newspaper group.

When she's not campaigning for the planet, she can be found scuba diving the Florida Keys, out on expedition, or searching for the world’s best cheesy fries.

Meet Patrick Smith! He’s a lionfish hunter in Key Largo in the beautiful Florida Keys.

Patrick is retired from the Army after 25 yrs of service as an Infantryman. He currently works for the Department of Environmental Protection for the State of Florida. He’s been teaching Scuba Diving for 12 years and teaches a lionfish hunter specialty course. He is also a Master Underwater Criminal Investigator. Patrick’s hobbies include scuba diving, geocaching and cycling.

Patrick enjoys the tranquility of scuba diving – hunting lionfish is just a bonus. He gets enjoyment out of knowing that he is helping the reefs by removing lionfish as an invasive animal. It is sad we have to remove them but it is necessary for our native species of fish and reefs to survive.

Patrick has been lionfish hunting since 2019 and likes how creative the community is. People have found was to make use of lionfish. The ways to make use of lionfish so they are not wasted.

Polly Wood From Blue Reef Island Belize. Polly Wood has been in the lionfish community for a long time and many of that time has been in Belize.

Polly runs this newly developed luxury private Caribbean island, off the coast of Belize. Get off the beaten track and experience the untouched beauty of the Belizean Barrier Reef. Spend your days fishing, diving and snorkeling. Or, relax by the pool or on our idyllic beach, with your favorite cocktail.

Book a trip for 2 people or enjoy our whole island for up to 10 people plus children. Your own personal private island playground!

If you want to vacation at one of the finest resorts in Belize then look no further! https://www.bluereefisland.com/

DeepWater Mafia was founded by a group of Christian Mississippi Divers who enjoy Spearfishing, Underwater Photography, or just going Offshore on the Gulf of Mexico. The club is governed by the DWM-9 Board of Directors and has over 100 members spread across the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Tim Shivers (The Timinator)

Born and raised in South Mississippi. Grew up fishing, crabbing, and cast netting here in Ocean Springs.

Learned to dive in 2005 but only did resort diving till I met The Pirate, Salty Bones , and Torch. They invited Shark Whisperer and I to dive with them and we were immediately OBSESSED with the sport!!!

Heath Powell

I started diving in 2002 when I graduated high school, after that my whole family got certified and we fell in love with spear fishing. Shortly after I contracted overseas and had the opportunity to dive all over the world, but our gulf waters always brought me home!

There is nothing like dropping down on an oil rig and watching the marine life. It’s a whole different world down there! Joining the Mafia has been one of the best things for me. It has giving me the opportunity to dive more than I could ever dream of.

Dunja and Marcel are the owners of Central Dive Curaçao and I spent a couple of dats diving with her and Lisette. Dunja is probably the best lionfish hunter on Curacao. Unique, very relaxed and just wonderful, these are our first diving feelings on Curaçao.  They dive more than 65 dive sites directly from the beach. The concept is simple: after checking in at the dive center we drive with our dive car to many different dive sites and show you the beauty of the underwater world. The qualified divers can dive on their own, they take their tanks with them and choose one of the 35 beaches available to them with the loaded rental car. From the beach you can go directly to the diving. No stress, no obligations, you can dive when and where you want. For snorkelers, many dive sites are recommended, where even non-divers can find their pleasure. https://central-dive-curacao.com/ 

13 Year Old Tony lives on Caye Caulker, Belize and helps his mom Dianny run their Lionfish Souvenirs & Adventures shop on the island. He is a remarkable young man for his age!

Andy is from Tobacco Caye Paradise in Belize - a great place to relax, snorkel, dive and watch sunsets! His background is a life of adventures and that makes him perfect for what he does at Tobacco Caye Paradise!

Sunrise Scuba is your best bet for a great scuba diving experience when visiting Caye Caulker, Belize. They are the only dive shop on the island that offers Nitrox. With their many different dive packages you are sure to find the best one while on the island.

Dr. Tiu is a Marine Science Extension Agent with the University of Florida Sea Grant. Her areas of expertise include aquaculture, technology transfer, industry development and environmental education. Signature projects include leadership of a state-wide aquaponics program and sustainable development of offshore aquaculture. She supports the Florida Micro-plastic Awareness Project and the Florida-friendly Fishing Gide programs, teaches Florida Master Naturalist courses, and promotes environmental awareness through eco-tours, museum displays, and lectures in the panhandle of Florida. In her free time, Laura loves to hang out at the beach, kayak and travel.

Christine is another character in the comic book Lionfish Reef Heroes. She is a scientist, a conservationist and an entrepreneur. Christine has also been a friend of Lionfish Central and does her part to help rid our waters of the invasive lionfish!

Gerald & Sons Snorkeling is a great way to snorkel and spearfish in the waters off Caye Caulker, Belize. You won't find a better group of guides on the island because they grew up since childhood doing this.

Elsie Gringley is a young artist living in the Cayman Islands or Bermuda from time to time. She is a talented artist and daughter of a well-known marine scientist so her knowledge of lionfish and the ocean is a big part of her art.

Meet Willie and Abby of ReefCI. They work hard on a tiny little island about 25 miles south of Placencia, Belize. They do a great job and are wonderful people looking out for the reefs around the island by removing lionfish all week long!

Reef Conservation International empowers you to take an active role in directly protecting and conserving our oceans that we love via our marine conservation projects and environmental education and awareness program. ReefCI’s conservation work is funded through environmentally minded eco-volunteers, like yourself, who come to our unique island in Belize to assist in their marine conservation projects that protect the underwater world we love. Without your help and funding, ReefCI would not be possible. Their volunteers truly are the change they wish to see in the world. Join them and make a difference!

Erin is an intern at Tobacco Caye Marine Station in Belize. She is a college student expanding her passion for the ocean. We got to catch up with Erin and talk about her journey and the lionfish work she did there.

Captain Andy Ross was raised in a military family and was fortunate enough to have lived in some pretty amazing places like the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii. Captain Andy earned his first dive certification in Guam, and has since found his way under the waters of Honduras, Belize, Palau, Mexico, and of course the Pensacola Gulf Coast. Captain Andy’s appreciation for the underwater world eventually led him to become a divemaster, where he began learning the ins and outs of the scuba charter industry. Now a licensed captain and technical diver with thousands of dives under his belt, Captain Andy has built a reputation as an experienced charter Captain with a total commitment to the safety and comfort of his passengers.

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.  

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!

Zookeepers are the gold standard when it comes to hunting lionfish! Tim Robinson recently purchased Zookeeper and is taking it to the next level in the fight against the invasive lionfish. We met up with Tim at DEMA 2021 in Las Vegas. He is a great guy with a great business mind and will take everything to the next level. 

https://lionfishzk.com/

Dowla came from Qatar to Seacamp so she could take our Lionfish Hunting Submersible Operations course. Dowla is no stranger to Lionfish Central. She interned with us on our submersible project in the Florida Keys last summer.

Meet Dowla F Al-Suwaidi

She is a postgraduate from the University of the West of England in Bristol UK were she earned two Masters in Environmental Consultancy and Wildlife Conservation in Practice. In 2022, Dowla reached out us to learn more about the lionfish and their impact on the coral reefs.

Dowla is from the middle east where not everybody knows how dangerous these fish can be in other regions, and how was easy it is for them to adjust anywhere in different waters. Here she worked on her dissertation project studying why lionfish are considered an invasive species and different methods of management, while in her last years in UWE-Bristol. Additionally, she was able to document the first dive testing of the submarine in Florida-Keys with both members of the lionfish central and she was the first passenger to dive in the newly designed submersible.

For her part, she was able to spread awareness and teach different groups of people at the science fair in the UK when presenting her dissertation project. As a result, many people became educated on how these fish caused damage in the Caribbean and the Atlantic reefs. That was Dowla reached back out to us to contribute and play a role in spreading awareness globally.

Dowla traveled all the way from Qatar to join this unique course, Introduction of Submersible prepared by captain Scott Cassell and Myself (Mr. Scott Gonnello) on 16th of March 2023. She said it was worth the 20 hour flight and 9 hours on the road. She recommended this course to people globally in hopes they would join and learn more about the submarine, as she believes this course will open up new doors in marine conservation practices. It will help spread awareness, promote the marine life, help discover and protect the undiscovered depth.

Dowla helped by designing the technical page for the submarine anatomy diagram for the submersible course, as well as contributing good images to attract viewers on social media and incorporating these images into the course book. Plus she played a role in designing the new project “Lionfish expedition passport”, by adding the needed logos and layout works for the lionfish central, providing new ideas and feedback to make it better in the future.

Dowla is currently working on designing a program to allow different student both locally and abroad to join the courses that will teach them about the invasive lionfish, as well as learn how to get involved in protecting and maintaining healthy reefs, help in spreading awareness and knowledge throughout the world.