TOBAGO'S reef system has been under threat for years now with the coming to the island's waters of the lionfish.
The fish is an invasive species with no natural predators in Caribbean waters. Lionfish eat fish, shrimp, crabs, juvenile octopus, squid, juvenile lobster and seahorses indiscriminately. If a lionfish can fit prey into its mouth, it will eat it. Without an apex predator, it has been multiplying fast in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
The threat goes beyond the depletion of fish stocks. Lionfish target many of the species that live in our reefs, and the loss of those species will have a dramatic impact on the delicate habitats that support the growth of these undersea environments. Many of the fish that lionfish gobble up are known as grazers, the tiny fish that contribute to the continuing health of the reef and the larger fish living there.
The Institute of Marine Affairs has been studying the impact of lionfish on reef fish in Tobago since the threat flared a decade ago.
Tobago scuba fisherman John Procope asked everyone last week to help by eating more lionfish. The island's fishermen are worried about the threat that the species poses to the entire marine ecosystem.
It might seem an unusual way to deal with an aquatic menace, but the experience with shark and bake and shark fin soup proved a deathknell to far less threatening shark populations in TT. At one point, this country was the sixth largest exporter of shark fins to Hong Kong, where the soup is considered a delicacy.
The diminished shark population has led to a pincer effect on reef habitats, with the large predator's disappearance creating an imbalance at the top of the food chain, while the lionfish is now devouring everything closer to the bottom.
Environmentalists worry about the parrotfish species, considered critical to the health of reefs. Parrotfish eat coral, turning it into sand by the tonne. Some scientists have asked fishermen to switch their spearfishing catch from parrotfish to lionfish.
While lionfish is tasty in a range of recipes, the fish has a venomous spike that calls for careful, experienced handling before the fish can be prepared for dining. But some local entrepreneurs are already ahead of the curve on lionfish consumption and are building businesses around safely preparing the seafood.
Newsday profiled Riesa Sumair of Lion's Den Seafood in August 2018 about her new seafood business, built around lionfish sales. The company offers the fish scaled and despined, while regularly serving up new recipe ideas to its customers.
So last week's call from Tobago's fishermen isn't new, but it is surprising that with TT's wide-ranging appetites, the demand hasn't built faster for lionfish.
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