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local Thursday 17 OcTOber 2024
The Lionfish

And its threat to our marine wild life

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

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

(Oranjestad)—Once lo- Arends.
cated in what is now the Be apart of the conversa-
Renaissance Marina, the After 1989, the restaurant tion: if you or any family
Bali Restaurant was once was again handed over member of yours have a
both a touristic and local to other owners, and since memory of the Bali restau-
hot spot, and nowadays then suffered from unstable rant, whether it be a pic-
it’s considered a forgotten pillars underneath the foun- ture or just a story, share it
gem on the island. dation, resulting in various with us! We would love to
leaks and overflowing of see this legendary hot spot
Known as “the floating res- water into the restaurant. through the lens of our visi-
taurant”, Bali first opened And as most great things tors!
in 1955 by Willem “Bill” come to an end, so did the
Strijland, who had experi- survival and maintenance Source and pictures credit
ence in Javanese cuisine. of the Bali Restaurant. to: “De Kolibrie op de Rots
At the time, the restaurant at the time. The restaurant in the year 1970—still under However, folks today still (en meer over de geschie-
was pretty exclusive— saw three different owners the ownership of Schmand, reminisce its legacy, and denis van Aruba)” by Evert
with space to host only 25 during its existence, during when it got its iconic pointy it’s now considered a lost Bongers.q
guests. Yet, 4 years later, it which it underwent various roofs. The restaurant was monument.
was named the best res- renovations and rebrand- also expanded to host a
taurant in the Caribbean ing. total of 85 guests. This was
by the Caribbean Tourist “The New Bali”, who had its
Association. In 1964, the restaurant was official (re)opening in 1972.
taken over by Karel “Carl”
The restaurant was proba- Schmand. Over the years, After 1972, when Ronny
bly most iconic for its Java- the restaurant needed Schmand took over, the
nese-inspired exterior with constant renovation and restaurant saw yet another
its pointy, slanted roofs. repair, mainly due to its vul- expansion; this time com-
However, the first version of nerability to leaks and the plete with a long bar and
Bali did not look like that at unstable pillars underneath dance floor, where guests
all but was still considered the foundation. However, enjoyed live music from
as one of the most popu- the biggest change made legendary Aruban musi-
lar restaurants on the island to the restaurant happened cian and composer, Toti