>> Countless marine species are native to the picturesque underwater ecosystem of Bonaire,
an island part of the Netherland Antilles.
>> Diving enthusiasts from all over the world travel to Bonaire to see many of the island's
unique and vibrant dive sites.
>> Divers surround themselves with vibrant colors and fascinating creatures while witnessing
the marine ecosystem sustain itself through predation.
>> However beautiful and secure this underwater world appears, a foreign species has begun
to threaten its delicate ecological equilibrium.
>> Travelers originally brought Lionfish from the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans
back to Florida as pets.
>> After a hurricane destroyed some aquariums, Lionfish began to appear
around the coast of Florida.
>> This alien species quickly spread to the Caribbean, upsetting the food chain while
devastating other fish and coral populations.
>> Lionfish upset the food chain by consuming smaller fish and invertebrates that cannot
reproduce fast enough to sustain their species.
>> The average female lionfish produces two million eggs a year, more than most fish.
>> Lionfish use their highly venomous dorsal, anal, and pelvic spines for protection.
>> Contact with the venom can cause nausea, seizure, paralysis, and heart failure in humans.
>> Divers capturing or eliminating lionfish are required to wear gloves for their protection.
>> Frank Vanderfaan uses the "Eliminate Lionfish Tool" to spear lionfish and feed them to eels
or bring them to the surface.
>> Mona and Gary Wurth capture Lionfish to be dissected at the CIEE research station.
>> Though Lionfish may be beautiful to look at, without diver assistance to control their
population, they can devastate the marine ecosystem.
>> In Bonaire, divers feed dead lionfish to eels in hopes that they will develop more
of a taste for them.