Page 13 - AHATA

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local Friday 9 May 2025
The Lionfish

And its threat to our marine wild life

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

Food culture in Aruba

(Oranjestad) - Like many other cul- or fried—with funchi (polenta) or
tures, an important aspect of the rice with stewed vegetables. Of-
Aruban cultural identity is our con- ten, fried or boiled plantain or pan
nection to food and food traditions. bati (Aruban pancake) is included.
The local food traditions consist of a Stews are a staple in Aruban cuisine
melting pot of different cultural and and can are largely influenced by
religious eating habits and dishes. Latin-American and Latin/Afro-Ca-
ribbean Stews. Some of the more
Breakfast, lunch and dinner unique stews and soups from the
The routine of breakfast, lunch and ABC Islands* include sopi di bon-
dinner on the island is one that chi cora (red kidney bean soup
does not completely follow a Euro- with pig tail), sopi mondongo (tripe influences, most notably form Ven- Saco*, basket, pastechi, kroket,
pean or American routine, despite soup), carni stoba (beef stew), ezuela. Ayacas and the famous deditos, Johnny cake and more.
the major influences from these comcomber stoba (West Indian pan di ham* are two crucial holi- These snacks are usually sold at lo-
parts of the world on our culture gherkin stew) and much more. day dishes, along with stuffed tur- cal snack trucks and cafes, often
and way of living. When it comes key, roasted glazed ham topped located on the side of the road.
to the three important meals of the Dinner Time with pineapples, arroz con pollo In the area of Tanki Leendert and
day, most of the Aruban popula- Dinner time can vary significantly (rice and chicken) and potato sal- Tanki flip, for example, there are
tion follows a Latin-American influ- from household to household. Un- ad, among other items. Traditional many of these trucks parked on
enced routine. like the U.S. or in Europe, dinner drinks include ponche crema (Aru- the side of the road and often
time typically does not consist of ban eggnog), chuculati pinda (hot open until late at night—offering
Breakfast a whole (warm) meal. Instead, chocolate with peanut butter), tasty and filling snacks post night-
Breakfast in Aruba is quite simple: a the evening “meal” can typically and homemade fruit punch. Des- life fun.q
cup of coffee or tea, some bread, consist of something lighter, like a serts include, bolo di pistachio (pis-
and sometimes an egg. Some- sandwich, though it is not uncom- tachio cake), bolo di cashupete *ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Cu-
times, due to the need of a quick mon to see leftovers from the main (cashew cake), quesillo (flan), bolo racao
*Pan di ham: Derived from the Vene-
“to-go” breakfast, you may also meal reheated and eaten again. preto (dark fruit cake), drigidek zuelan Pan de Jamon (rolled up bread
find many snack trucks and ca- Tea and coffee are often also (gingerbread), pan boyo (bread with ham, raisins and olives)
fes that sell sandwiches, pastechis served with the evening snack. cake) and more. *Saco: Saco literally means “bag”.
(meat pie), arepas and empana- Saco contains fried potatoes, plan-
das early in the morning. (Religious) Holidays Snacks and tasty delights tains, chicken (and ribs) and a Johnny
Christmas is probably the biggest Besides meals and dishes that are cake, served in a paper bag.
Main Meal global holiday, and every cul- eaten on the dinner table, Aruba
The main meal is typically eaten in ture has its own spin on what their also has a food tradition that in- Source: Voeding, voedingsgewoonten
en gerechten op Aruba (Nutrition,
most households around noon or in Christmas cuisine entails. In Aru- cludes snacks and other tasty Food Traditions and Dishes on Aruba)
the afternoon. This can consist of ba, our Christmas cuisine is again delights that you may easily find by Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
meat, fish, and chicken—stewed largely based on Latin-American around the island. These include,