Page 13 - AHATA

Tuesday 10 december 2024 locAl
A10

The Lionfish

And its threat to our marine wild life

(Oranjestad)—Despite its bee’s sting.
colorful and striking ap-
pearance, the lionfish has Its natural predators in the
become a Caribbean-wide Indo-Pacific are sharks and
problem for Atlantic sea life. barracudas, but in the Carib-
The Aruban marine wild life is bean Sea, local fish do not
also affected by this beautiful recognize the lionfish as part
dilemma, as it is foreign to of their diet. In other words,
our waters and has become the lionfish has no predators
a danger to our local fish and in the Caribbean Sea. And
reefs. this becomes a major prob-
lem for our local marine life;
Originating from the Indo- if there are no predators to
Pacific Ocean, the lionfish is stimulate population con-
a relatively small fish. It has trol of lionfish, these fish can
no teeth, but it does protect continue to reproduce and
itself against predators using expand to other parts of the
its sharp, colorful spikes. It is Atlantic, become more inva-
said that the sting of a lion- sive and dangerous for other
fish can be up to 100 times types of fish.
more painful than that of a For Aruba, the lionfish is a Atlantic happened in Florida, Brakel who dedicate their
problem especially for our where people would buy li- lives hunting and capturing
local coral reefs. Accord- onfish from across the world these invasive species, using
ing to Patrick van Brakel, li- to keep in their aquariums. them for consumption and
onfish expert and hunter from However, lionfish grow, and jewelry making.
the Hunting Lionfish Aruba as these buyers realized that
foundation, every reef has the fish were too much up- They are caught with a
a “cleaning station”—tiny keep, they were let out into hand spear, an object re-
fish that eat algae and other the ocean to roam free. From sembling a garbage picker
types of waste on a reef, thus continental USA, the lionfish with 4 sharp prongs. These
maintaining the reef’s health travelled to and invaded the spears are used like a sling
and providing food to the fish entire Caribbean area, from shot to catch lionfish from a
population in the area. How- Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao distance. These fish are then
ever, as the lionfish feeds off up to New York. In Aruba, put into a collecting tube
of these tiny fish, it becomes lionfish were discovered in and taken out of the water.
harder for the coral reef to 2009. Van Brakel not only catches
maintain its health. them himself, but also cooks
Controlling the lionfish popu- them for locals and tourists at
Patrick also shares the origins lation is challenge, as each The LionFish Snack Aruba in
of lionfish in the Caribbean female fish can lay up to Paradera. This way, he does
Sea. It is theorized that the in- 40,000 eggs a day. Luckily, his part in protecting the lo-
troduction of these fish in the we have people like van cal wild life. q

The Bali Restaurant: a touristic hot spot and lost gem on the island

(Oranjestad)—Once located the ownership of Schmand, the restaurant. And as most
in what is now the Renais- when it got its iconic pointy great things come to an end,
sance Marina, the Bali Res- roofs. The restaurant was also so did the survival and main-
taurant was once both a expanded to host a total of tenance of the Bali Restau-
touristic and local hot spot, 85 guests. This was “The New rant. However, folks today still
and nowadays it’s consid- Bali”, who had its official (re) reminisce its legacy, and it’s
ered a forgotten gem on opening in 1972. now considered a lost monu-
the island. ment.
After 1972, when Ronny
Known as “the floating res- Schmand took over, the res- Be apart of the conversation:
taurant”, Bali first opened in taurant saw yet another ex- if you or any family member
1955 by Willem “Bill” Strijland, pansion; this time complete of yours have a memory of
who had experience in Ja- with a long bar and dance the Bali restaurant, whether
vanese cuisine. At the time, with its pointy, slanted roofs. In 1964, the restaurant was floor, where guests enjoyed it be a picture or just a story,
the restaurant was pretty ex- However, the first version of taken over by Karel “Carl” live music from legendary share it with us! We would
clusive—with space to host Bali did not look like that at Schmand. Over the years, Aruban musician and com- love to see this legendary
only 25 guests. Yet, 4 years all but was still considered the restaurant needed poser, Toti Arends. hot spot through the lens of
later, it was named the best as one of the most popular constant renovation and our visitors!
restaurant in the Caribbean restaurants on the island at repair, mainly due to its vul- After 1989, the restaurant
by the Caribbean Tourist As- the time. The restaurant saw nerability to leaks and the was again handed over to Source and pictures credit
sociation. three different owners during unstable pillars underneath other owners, and since then to: “De Kolibrie op de Rots
its existence, during which it the foundation. However, suffered from unstable pillars (en meer over de geschie-
The restaurant was prob- underwent various renova- the biggest change made underneath the foundation, denis van Aruba)” by Evert
ably most iconic for its tions and rebranding. to the restaurant happened resulting in various leaks and Bongers. q
Javanese-inspired exterior in the year 1970—still under overflowing of water into