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♪ ♪

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DANNI WASHINGTON:
An invasion that
spans continents.

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♪ ♪

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Triggered by humans.

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They didn't choose
to be released

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in an entirely
different environment,

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but they're here.

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♪ ♪

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WASHINGTON:
The lionfish.

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Along the Atlantic coast,

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they've gone
from population: zero

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to top predator
in mere decades.

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I'm talking about,
in some cases,

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100 lionfish on one reef site

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that may be
the size of your car.

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We constantly
go back and forth

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from being appalled
at what we see,

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but being excited by our ability
to witness those things.

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WASHINGTON:
What has made them
so successful?

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TICO CHRISTIAAN:
Copy that, be advised,

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we are heading up
for lionfish.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's it-- all right.

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All right, keep it there, keep
it there, yeah, bring it up.

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WASHINGTON:
And what, if anything,
can stop them?

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FARRA FIGAROA:
We bring it to a restaurant

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where they sell them,

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where they sell the lionfish.

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WASHINGTON:
What's the average depth

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that you normally
put this down in?

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Truly out of recreational
diving limits,

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in deep water.

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There we go.
Nice.

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We're ready to go.

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WASHINGTON:
"Ocean Invaders,"

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right now, on "NOVA."

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♪ ♪

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WASHINGTON:
The Argentine black and white
tegu in Florida.

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African hippos in Colombia.

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South American cane toads
in Australia.

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Species are being introduced

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to new places
like never before.

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The Asian giant
hornet is so much bigger

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and faster and stronger.

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WASHINGTON:
Some are harmless and actually
make our lives better,

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while others become invasive,

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causing harm
and spreading uncontrollably.

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We short-circuit
the geographic barriers

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between these species.

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WASHINGTON:
But it's in the ocean
where an invasive species

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has wreaked so much havoc,

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it's considered
one of the most

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successful of them all.

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The lionfish.

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And the ocean, well,
that's my territory.

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I'm Danni Washington,

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an ocean explorer
and science communicator.

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I've always been drawn

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to the mysteries
of the underwater world.

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So when I learned
that an invasion

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of epic proportions,
spanning continents,

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was happening
below the surface,

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I had to investigate.

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What I really
want to know is,

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why are lionfish a threat?

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What makes them so invasive?

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And what can be done about it?

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The Gulf of Mexico
is one of the regions

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that has been hit
hardest by the invasion.

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So today,
I've come to participate

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in a fish survey to get

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a closer look at
these "Ocean Invaders."

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♪ ♪

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My mission is to
find lionfish

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during this survey,

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so I'm really looking
forward to that.

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I know that they love
to hang around wrecks

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or any type of
structure underwater,

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so I'm curious to see
how many we'll find.

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WASHINGTON:
I join coastal resource manager

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Alex Fogg at the Big Dawg,

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a U.S. Air Force
vessel sunk in 2021.

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So where maybe
there's a staircase,

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or maybe an open door
where there are some

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nooks and crannies
for them to hang out,

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that's where you want
to be looking for them.

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Okay.
We'll help
if we can.

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All right, cool.

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And I think the universal
signal for lionfish,

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I mean,
if I remember correctly,

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it's this one right here?
Correct, yep.

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FOGG:
You got it, yep, yep.

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Pretty easy
one to pick out.
WASHINGTON: Great.

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So if you can point 'em
out to me, let me know

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when you see some, and
I'll make sure to tally it down.

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WASHINGTON:
Okay, well, I think
we should get suited up.

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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WASHINGTON:
The Big Dawg was not a casualty

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of a hurricane or torpedo.

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It was intentionally
sunk as a part

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of an artificial reef program.

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♪ ♪

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As it comes into view,

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I'm blown away
by its massive size.

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♪ ♪

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In regions with featureless sea
floors, like the Gulf,

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structures are sunk
as artificial reefs

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to promote marine life.

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Like this huge
roughtail stingray,

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one of the first
creatures we encounter.

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♪ ♪

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We see several species that
people depend on for food,

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including grouper
and red snapper.

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So reefs like this don't
only support biodiversity,

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they support us.

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While artificial reefs here
are havens for native fish,

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they've also become
buffet grounds

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for the invasive lionfish.

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♪ ♪

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To start our survey,
we head into the ghostly wreck.

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It really doesn't take long
to spot my first lionfish.

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Three of them, actually.

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At a distance,
their striped bodies

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blend in with
the mangled metal.

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But up close,
they are striking,

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hypnotic, and unlike
any other fish on the reef.

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♪ ♪

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As I continue the dive,
I tally up more

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and more invasive lionfish.

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I'm careful to
keep my distance.

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They're venomous,
and capable of delivering

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a potent sting
with their spines,

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so I'm extra-wary
when checking

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different compartments
and swim-throughs.

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Turns out they're not
at all hard to find here--

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which is exactly the problem.

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There are dozens
of lionfish down here.

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♪ ♪

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FOGG:
In some cases, more
than 100 lionfish

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on one reef site that
may be the size of your car.

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It's unsustainable for
a lot of the species that are

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on those reefs or
were on those reefs

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prior to lionfish showing up.

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(breathing heavily)

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Well, that was cold.

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(laughs)
FOGG:
Yeah, a little bit!

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It's a little chilly.

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Good vis, though!

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Yeah, great
visibility.

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All right, well,
that was a great dive.

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Yeah, it was killer.
Yeah...

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We absolutely had
lionfish down there.

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Yes, we did.

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We didn't have lionfish

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ten, 15 years ago.

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So just adding
lionfish to the system

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totally changes things.

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They may be
preying on fish,

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like red snapper and grouper,
that we really depend on.

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WASHINGTON:
Scientists say that
on some reefs,

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lionfish are killing off
up to 80% of young fish.

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And in some Atlantic waters,
they make up nearly

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40% of the total
predator biomass.

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Not long ago, they made up
zero percent.

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This leads us
to the question,

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how did lionfish end
up so successful here,

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where they don't belong?

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And where did
they come from?

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LUKE TORNABENE:
Lionfish occur throughout
the Indo-Pacific oceans,

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basically from the Red Sea
and Indian Ocean

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throughout the Central Pacific,

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all the way out
to French Polynesia.

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They have a number of
predators in their native range.

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So no one, no one looks
at, as lionfish as a nuisance.

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They look at them as this
beautiful ornamental species

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that everyone wants
to have in their fish tank.

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WASHINGTON:
The lionfish's strange beauty

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makes them popular in home
aquariums around the world,

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and most scientists believe

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that is what led
to the Atlantic invasion.

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Here, we're talking
about something that

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happened just like that.

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WASHINGTON:
The theory is, in the 1980s,

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lionfish living
in home aquariums

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were released off
the coast of Florida.

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Somebody took this species
that had never, you know,

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been found naturally
in the Atlantic Ocean

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and dumped it in,
and it just took off.

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WASHINGTON:
Over the past few decades,

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they've spread up and down the
Atlantic coast and Caribbean,

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from North America
all the way down to Brazil.

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And there are records of
lionfish in the Mediterranean,

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introduced separately
via the Suez Canal.

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SHARLENE SANTANA:
Our ability to move species

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from one place to another

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is, uh, over very large
distances, is much greater

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than what many of those
species would be able

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to accomplish
by their own means.

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FRANK MAZZOTTI:
We short-circuit
the geographic barriers

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between these species,

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through things like
the pet trade,

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and so things
that would have kept

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these species apart, you know,
essentially forever,

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for millennia, we've done away
with that barrier.

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CAROLE BALDWIN:
Other, you know, aquarium
species have been

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released into
the open ocean, and they

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don't, you know, do well--
you might have a small

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local population, or they
may just, you know,

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die out completely,
but you take a,

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a fish like a lionfish, that
just has all the characteristics

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that make it a hardy survivor,

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and, you know,
it can wreak havoc.

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WASHINGTON:
Humans manage to move
plenty of animals

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to opposite ends of the Earth.

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So, what sets lionfish apart?

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What allows them to proliferate

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so successfully
in their new territories?

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As a fish biologist,
someone who loves

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studying these species,
we're often drawn towards

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the evolutionary novelties
or the oddities--

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the weirdos
in the fish world.

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And lionfish are
definitely one of them.

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Most fish don't have

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frilly moving appendages
on the outside of their body.

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Most fish look like
a torpedo, essentially,

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with some short fins
on the top and the bottom.

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The lionfish seems to have
a suite of characteristics

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that make it a particularly
great invasive species,

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or terrible invasive species,
depending on your perspective.

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Their appetite
is seemingly endless,

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and they digest food
very quickly, too.

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WASHINGTON:
A lionfish can eat

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90% of its body
weight in a day.

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In fact, a lionfish's stomach

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can expand up
to 30 times in size.

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TORNABENE:
They will not chase down

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a food item across
the reef and eat it.

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That's just not how they work.

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They're, they're smarter than
that.

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And in some ways,
they're lazier than that.

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So, their approach
is definitely a slow approach

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to targeting their prey,
getting them in

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an opportunistic position
where they can ambush it,

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and developing an easy,
an easy meal.

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WASHINGTON:
Lionfish eat over
100 different species,

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one of the reasons they are
such destructive invaders.

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But that's not all.

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They're also very good
at reproducing.

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While most native fish
only reproduce

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for a few months,
female lionfish

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can produce millions of eggs
over the entire year.

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This relentless
multiplication

253
00:12:21,300 --> 00:12:26,133
leads their populations
to skyrocket.

254
00:12:26,133 --> 00:12:27,900
They release the eggs
into the water column,

255
00:12:27,900 --> 00:12:29,666
thousands of them at a time,

256
00:12:29,666 --> 00:12:31,366
and they're fertilized
and they drift.

257
00:12:31,366 --> 00:12:35,533
And so that makes it
really hard to contain,

258
00:12:35,533 --> 00:12:39,200
you know, an invasive species
to any one area.

259
00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,433
WASHINGTON:
And crucially,
in their original habitat,

260
00:12:42,433 --> 00:12:44,600
lionfish have predators.

261
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,866
In the Atlantic,
there aren't really

262
00:12:46,866 --> 00:12:51,133
any animals that
see them as food yet.

263
00:12:51,133 --> 00:12:54,066
Organisms are highly adapted
to their environments

264
00:12:54,066 --> 00:12:55,933
and to the species
that they interact with

265
00:12:55,933 --> 00:12:58,200
because of this process
of natural selection.

266
00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:02,100
Within an ecosystem,
you have species that

267
00:13:02,100 --> 00:13:03,666
have been interacting for

268
00:13:03,666 --> 00:13:06,366
millions of years,
probably, right?

269
00:13:06,366 --> 00:13:09,600
And it's a network of very
intricate interactions.

270
00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,366
Pattern recognition between
predator and prey,

271
00:13:11,366 --> 00:13:14,433
and, and it's sort of this
evolutionary arms race.

272
00:13:14,433 --> 00:13:17,200
And in the lionfish's native
range,

273
00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,166
we can imagine that

274
00:13:19,166 --> 00:13:21,066
the predators there have
had much longer time

275
00:13:21,066 --> 00:13:24,133
to recognize this
otherwise unique pattern,

276
00:13:24,133 --> 00:13:27,433
and recognize that
that is actually a prey item.

277
00:13:27,433 --> 00:13:29,133
Whereas in their
introduced range,

278
00:13:29,133 --> 00:13:30,833
they've only been
here for 30 years.

279
00:13:30,833 --> 00:13:33,633
So most of the species
here have no idea

280
00:13:33,633 --> 00:13:35,166
what this pattern is at all.

281
00:13:35,166 --> 00:13:38,433
WASHINGTON:
Without predators
to keep them in check,

282
00:13:38,433 --> 00:13:41,200
invasive lionfish
have an advantage

283
00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:46,266
over native species that
have evolved together.

284
00:13:46,266 --> 00:13:51,833
But humans have moved species
around the globe for millennia.

285
00:13:51,833 --> 00:13:55,000
So how bad can an invasive
species really be?

286
00:13:57,333 --> 00:13:58,666
On the other side
of North America,

287
00:13:58,666 --> 00:14:04,666
another animal is just
starting its invasion.

288
00:14:04,666 --> 00:14:09,566
One that scientists think
could be catastrophic.

289
00:14:09,566 --> 00:14:12,700
♪ ♪

290
00:14:22,166 --> 00:14:26,266
TED MCFALL:
It was a, it was a morning
almost exactly like today.

291
00:14:26,266 --> 00:14:28,066
And I saw, in front
of one of the hives,

292
00:14:28,066 --> 00:14:30,633
a black area of, of what looked

293
00:14:30,633 --> 00:14:33,166
to be maybe a bunch
of dead bees.

294
00:14:33,166 --> 00:14:34,933
And, and that's when
I opened up the hive.

295
00:14:34,933 --> 00:14:38,133
And there was nothing,
nothing less, left to save.

296
00:14:38,133 --> 00:14:40,533
All of the bees
had been beheaded.

297
00:14:40,533 --> 00:14:44,333
WASHINGTON:
Beekeepers Ted and Dorothy
McFall were the first

298
00:14:44,333 --> 00:14:47,166
to be hit by this invasion.

299
00:14:47,166 --> 00:14:48,233
In all my decades
of beekeeping,

300
00:14:48,233 --> 00:14:49,533
I've never seen
anything like it.

301
00:14:49,533 --> 00:14:51,566
DOROTHY MCFALL:
So a few weeks later,

302
00:14:51,566 --> 00:14:54,366
I was at a winter market

303
00:14:54,366 --> 00:14:58,566
and a couple said,
"I don't want to alarm you,"

304
00:14:58,566 --> 00:15:01,800
but they found some, some--
and she said the name,

305
00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:03,000
and I had no idea

306
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:04,400
what she just told me.

307
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,400
And then I asked her again,
"What is that called?"

308
00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,866
And she said,
"Asian giant hornet."

309
00:15:09,866 --> 00:15:11,633
TELISSA WILSON:
Vespa mandarinia.

310
00:15:11,633 --> 00:15:13,400
The Asian giant hornet, yeah.
MAN: That's the Asian giant
hornet, okay.

311
00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,066
That's what it's commonly
called here.

312
00:15:15,066 --> 00:15:18,700
WASHINGTON:
A.K.A. the yak killer,

313
00:15:18,700 --> 00:15:22,366
the murder hornet,
and officially named

314
00:15:22,366 --> 00:15:25,900
the northern giant hornet.

315
00:15:25,900 --> 00:15:27,500
So the first nest
was actually found

316
00:15:27,500 --> 00:15:29,300
in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

317
00:15:29,300 --> 00:15:34,433
Come to now, we have found
four nests in Washington state.

318
00:15:34,433 --> 00:15:38,100
Nobody really knows how
the first introduction happened.

319
00:15:38,100 --> 00:15:39,866
It's plausible that
it came in on shipments,

320
00:15:39,866 --> 00:15:42,233
or cargo containers.

321
00:15:42,233 --> 00:15:44,133
TED MCCALL:
The goal right now
is to try to stop

322
00:15:44,133 --> 00:15:46,633
this Asian giant
hornet problem from continuing,

323
00:15:46,633 --> 00:15:47,900
because it only
takes somewhere between

324
00:15:47,900 --> 00:15:49,500
five and two dozen
Asian giant hornets

325
00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:51,200
to come in and
slaughter thousands.

326
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:52,733
And they do it
in a matter of hours.

327
00:15:52,733 --> 00:15:54,633
60,000 versus five.

328
00:15:54,633 --> 00:15:56,133
WILSON:
It kills people every year.

329
00:15:56,133 --> 00:16:00,366
I think about 50 people in
Asia die annually from stings.

330
00:16:00,366 --> 00:16:02,666
It delivers more venom
than any other hornet.

331
00:16:02,666 --> 00:16:03,800
It's a cytolic venom.

332
00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:05,366
It basically, like,

333
00:16:05,366 --> 00:16:08,633
breaks open your cells
and degrades your tissue.

334
00:16:08,633 --> 00:16:10,166
I know it sounds crazy,

335
00:16:10,166 --> 00:16:13,200
but the Asian giant hornet,
they can sting multiple times.

336
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,200
And if you pick up a couple
dozen stings,

337
00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,833
you're either gonna be,
wind up in the hospital

338
00:16:17,833 --> 00:16:19,300
or in the cemetery.

339
00:16:19,300 --> 00:16:21,366
WASHINGTON:
But the danger
they pose to humans

340
00:16:21,366 --> 00:16:25,866
is nothing compared
to what they do to honeybees.

341
00:16:25,866 --> 00:16:29,533
Giant hornet scouts
roam, looking for beehives,

342
00:16:29,533 --> 00:16:32,400
so they can steal
nutrient-rich baby bees

343
00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,133
and feed them
to their own young.

344
00:16:35,133 --> 00:16:38,300
When a scout finds a hive,
it injects a pheromone

345
00:16:38,300 --> 00:16:41,933
onto it to signal
this colony is a target.

346
00:16:41,933 --> 00:16:44,133
This is like a pin
marked on a GPS.

347
00:16:44,133 --> 00:16:45,700
(buzzing)

348
00:16:45,700 --> 00:16:47,166
When the rest
of the hornets arrive,

349
00:16:47,166 --> 00:16:49,966
there's little
hope for the bees.

350
00:16:49,966 --> 00:16:51,300
They call it
the slaughter phase,

351
00:16:51,300 --> 00:16:52,633
'cause that's exactly
what they're doing.

352
00:16:52,633 --> 00:16:54,800
They literally will park
up on the honeybee nest

353
00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,333
and just tear
the workers apart.

354
00:16:57,333 --> 00:17:00,600
WASHINGTON:
Back in the hornet's
native range in Asia,

355
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,800
the most common
honeybee has evolved

356
00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,766
a very effective defense--

357
00:17:06,766 --> 00:17:09,000
kill the scout.

358
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,266
When the hornet scout shows up,

359
00:17:11,266 --> 00:17:16,200
the Asian bees ball around
it and beat their wings.

360
00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,366
This not only allows
them to pierce

361
00:17:18,366 --> 00:17:20,566
the hornet's armor,

362
00:17:20,566 --> 00:17:24,866
but also suffocate
it to death.

363
00:17:24,866 --> 00:17:28,633
This is possible because
Asian honeybees evolved

364
00:17:28,633 --> 00:17:31,866
alongside the giant hornet.

365
00:17:31,866 --> 00:17:33,866
The honeybee colonies
that were able

366
00:17:33,866 --> 00:17:37,100
to defend themselves
triumphed.

367
00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:41,466
Meanwhile, the honeybees
far away in North America

368
00:17:41,466 --> 00:17:45,766
did not participate in this
evolutionary arms race.

369
00:17:45,766 --> 00:17:47,233
WILSON:
Honeybees here

370
00:17:47,233 --> 00:17:48,666
don't have
a defense mechanism.

371
00:17:48,666 --> 00:17:50,800
They haven't co-evolved with
the Asian giant hornet,

372
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,033
and so that's a really scary
thought when you think about

373
00:17:53,033 --> 00:17:57,733
all of the pollination
that our honeybees do.

374
00:17:57,733 --> 00:17:59,900
WASHINGTON:
And there's the big problem.

375
00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:01,500
Honeybees are
the most productive

376
00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:02,966
pollinator in the U.S.

377
00:18:02,966 --> 00:18:06,366
A third of all food
produced in the country

378
00:18:06,366 --> 00:18:09,366
depends on these bees.

379
00:18:09,366 --> 00:18:12,800
So, if the honeybees
have a major problem,

380
00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:15,233
the food supply
has a major problem.

381
00:18:15,233 --> 00:18:17,666
TED MCCALL:
Food prices will go up.

382
00:18:17,666 --> 00:18:19,700
Berries, vegetables,
nuts, you know,

383
00:18:19,700 --> 00:18:22,100
all these things are
dependent on honeybees.

384
00:18:22,100 --> 00:18:24,800
Coffee-- you know, without,
without the honeybees,

385
00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:26,700
we're gonna be eating
a lot of potatoes,

386
00:18:26,700 --> 00:18:29,266
eating a lot of corn, and...

387
00:18:29,266 --> 00:18:30,533
I guess we'll
always have corn syrup.

388
00:18:31,866 --> 00:18:34,366
WASHINGTON:
At the Washington State
Department of Agriculture,

389
00:18:34,366 --> 00:18:39,000
the recently discovered giant
hornet nests are being studied.

390
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,433
Scientists like Telissa Wilson
are working against the clock

391
00:18:42,433 --> 00:18:44,700
to understand
the hornet's presence

392
00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:47,733
and future in North America.

393
00:18:47,733 --> 00:18:49,300
WILSON:
So here is the part,

394
00:18:49,300 --> 00:18:51,400
just part of the nest
number four

395
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,133
that we found last year.

396
00:18:54,133 --> 00:18:56,800
And just for comparison,
here's another nest I found

397
00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,800
outside of my lab
in the parking lot,

398
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,566
of another hymenoptera.

399
00:19:02,566 --> 00:19:05,100
It's pretty crazy.
(chuckles)

400
00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:09,233
I mean, they're, they're
unmistakable when you see 'em.

401
00:19:09,233 --> 00:19:11,666
They're the largest hornet.

402
00:19:11,666 --> 00:19:13,766
They have two big black eyes

403
00:19:13,766 --> 00:19:15,866
with three little eyes
in the middle.

404
00:19:15,866 --> 00:19:18,000
Five total eyes.

405
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,366
Which is just too much.
(laughs)

406
00:19:20,366 --> 00:19:22,400
We do stand a chance
of eradicating it,

407
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,200
and we're throwing
a lot of people at it

408
00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:25,900
and a lot of time and resources,

409
00:19:25,900 --> 00:19:29,866
and we're collaborating with
a lot of citizen scientists.

410
00:19:29,866 --> 00:19:33,066
MAZZOTTI:
Early detection
and rapid response.

411
00:19:33,066 --> 00:19:36,266
Almost all of the examples,
when we have

412
00:19:36,266 --> 00:19:39,166
successfully dealt
with an invasive species,

413
00:19:39,166 --> 00:19:42,266
has been something that
was detected early,

414
00:19:42,266 --> 00:19:44,500
responded to rapidly,

415
00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:48,600
with brute force--
just go in and get it out.

416
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,233
WASHINGTON:
Over the spring,

417
00:19:50,233 --> 00:19:53,200
Ted and Dorothy set traps
with their local bee club

418
00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:55,666
in hopes of catching any
emerging hornet queens

419
00:19:55,666 --> 00:19:57,600
before they can reproduce.

420
00:19:59,133 --> 00:20:00,933
RUTHIE DANIELSON:
The first year, we had about

421
00:20:00,933 --> 00:20:04,866
18 to 20
Asian giant hornets

422
00:20:04,866 --> 00:20:05,966
caught in traps?

423
00:20:05,966 --> 00:20:08,866
Last year, we had 14,
wasn't it?

424
00:20:08,866 --> 00:20:11,066
DOROTHY MCCALL:
Oh, yes, 14, I think.
DANIELSON: 14? Yeah, yeah.

425
00:20:11,066 --> 00:20:12,766
So every time you catch

426
00:20:12,766 --> 00:20:15,200
an Asian giant hornet
in a trap,

427
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:19,100
what that says is, there's
a nest in the area.

428
00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:22,266
And so then the, the scientists,
the entomologists,

429
00:20:22,266 --> 00:20:23,566
will saturate the area

430
00:20:23,566 --> 00:20:26,033
in a grid pattern
with live traps

431
00:20:26,033 --> 00:20:29,233
that they will check daily.

432
00:20:29,233 --> 00:20:32,766
♪ ♪

433
00:20:32,766 --> 00:20:33,900
TED MCCALL:
None of these hornets

434
00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:35,866
or other vespas
are even close to the size

435
00:20:35,866 --> 00:20:37,033
of the Asian giant hornet.

436
00:20:37,033 --> 00:20:39,166
The Asian giant hornet
is so much bigger

437
00:20:39,166 --> 00:20:41,500
and faster and stronger.

438
00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:43,166
It's pretty incredible.

439
00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:46,400
TED MCCALL:
But hopefully, if we
can stop it,

440
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,033
then we're not gonna have
to deal with it, but...

441
00:20:48,033 --> 00:20:49,833
We can stop it,
of course we can.
Yeah.

442
00:20:49,833 --> 00:20:51,200
We're, we're trying
like heck, aren't we?

443
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,700
Of course we can.
(both laugh)

444
00:20:53,700 --> 00:20:57,866
WILSON:
Once an invasive species
is endemic or established,

445
00:20:57,866 --> 00:20:59,833
the amount of money
and resources you would have

446
00:20:59,833 --> 00:21:03,233
to use to eradicate it are just
too much.

447
00:21:03,233 --> 00:21:06,500
Once it gets to a certain point,
all hope is lost.

448
00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:11,666
WASHINGTON:
It is undeniable that invasive
giant hornets are a threat.

449
00:21:11,666 --> 00:21:15,400
We still don't know if they can
be eradicated in North America,

450
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:16,733
but the clock is ticking,

451
00:21:16,733 --> 00:21:21,600
driving scientists and locals
to take action,

452
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,300
because we not only love,

453
00:21:23,300 --> 00:21:26,200
but depend on
the native honeybee.

454
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:28,433
The honeybee is non-native.

455
00:21:28,433 --> 00:21:30,333
(tape player stops)
WASHINGTON:
Wait, what?

456
00:21:30,333 --> 00:21:32,366
(tape player starts)
Well, in some of these species,

457
00:21:32,366 --> 00:21:35,066
that gets to another
end of a definition.

458
00:21:35,066 --> 00:21:39,033
Some non-native species
become naturalized,

459
00:21:39,033 --> 00:21:42,700
and that is, that's kind
of the opposite of invasive,

460
00:21:42,700 --> 00:21:46,000
and that is, they become
part of the ecosystem

461
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,100
that they've been introduced
to and fit into the ecosystem.

462
00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:54,266
And so there are naturalized
non-native species,

463
00:21:54,266 --> 00:21:57,900
as well as invasive
non-native species.

464
00:21:57,900 --> 00:22:00,000
WASHINGTON:
Okay, so let's get this
straight.

465
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,033
Non-native species
are the ones that

466
00:22:03,033 --> 00:22:06,033
have moved into new ecosystems.

467
00:22:06,033 --> 00:22:09,066
And like Frank says,
such species can become

468
00:22:09,066 --> 00:22:11,800
either naturalized
as a part of the ecosystem,

469
00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,966
or invasive and
disrupt the ecosystem.

470
00:22:15,966 --> 00:22:18,533
But species have been
moving around the world

471
00:22:18,533 --> 00:22:20,233
for millions of years.

472
00:22:20,233 --> 00:22:22,633
So does that mean every
plant and animal

473
00:22:22,633 --> 00:22:25,200
could have been
considered non-native

474
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,100
and potentially invasive at
some point in Earth's history?

475
00:22:29,100 --> 00:22:32,400
Could North America's
beloved honeybees have been,

476
00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:34,166
for a time, invasive,

477
00:22:34,166 --> 00:22:37,166
and out-competing
native pollinators?

478
00:22:37,166 --> 00:22:39,533
What else?

479
00:22:39,533 --> 00:22:41,133
Cats.

480
00:22:41,133 --> 00:22:43,333
(tape player stops)
WASHINGTON:
You're killing me, Frank.

481
00:22:43,333 --> 00:22:45,500
(tape player resumes)
Cats eat birds,

482
00:22:45,500 --> 00:22:47,866
eat small mammals,
eat reptiles,

483
00:22:47,866 --> 00:22:50,333
and, and are responsible for

484
00:22:50,333 --> 00:22:52,600
(wild cat growling)
hundreds of millions,
if not billions,

485
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,400
of birds being eaten every year.

486
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,166
Cats are the, one of the
most invasive species.

487
00:22:59,166 --> 00:23:02,933
Cats get a pass because
people do like them.

488
00:23:02,933 --> 00:23:05,100
(cat meows)
They shouldn't get a pass.

489
00:23:05,100 --> 00:23:07,733
Gonna anger all the cat people.
(laughing)

490
00:23:07,733 --> 00:23:09,466
It's okay, I'm a dog person,
I own it.

491
00:23:09,466 --> 00:23:10,800
(laughs)

492
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,100
WASHINGTON:
So, invasive giant hornets

493
00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:15,533
are a problem because
they could potentially

494
00:23:15,533 --> 00:23:19,633
wipe out honeybees and impact
America's food supply.

495
00:23:19,633 --> 00:23:21,200
Outdoor cats are a problem

496
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:23,666
because they kill
billions of birds.

497
00:23:23,666 --> 00:23:26,233
But what about lionfish?

498
00:23:26,233 --> 00:23:28,033
In some parts of the Atlantic,

499
00:23:28,033 --> 00:23:32,500
the populations of dozens
of fish species have plummeted.

500
00:23:35,833 --> 00:23:39,266
And many scientists believe
lionfish are to blame.

501
00:23:39,266 --> 00:23:42,833
Those fish are crucial
to the survival of corals.

502
00:23:42,833 --> 00:23:45,733
For instance,
some fish help control

503
00:23:45,733 --> 00:23:47,566
algae growth on coral reefs.

504
00:23:47,566 --> 00:23:51,566
If lionfish overconsume
algae-eaters,

505
00:23:51,566 --> 00:23:54,000
reefs could suffocate.

506
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,933
Countless coastal communities

507
00:23:55,933 --> 00:23:59,866
in the Western Atlantic
depend on these coral reefs

508
00:23:59,866 --> 00:24:04,000
for everything
from fishing to tourism.

509
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:07,900
But lionfish populations
can be managed-- sort of.

510
00:24:07,900 --> 00:24:10,100
Currently, the most
effective way

511
00:24:10,100 --> 00:24:12,433
to do this is through
spearfishing.

512
00:24:12,433 --> 00:24:14,833
(boat motor revving)

513
00:24:14,833 --> 00:24:19,833
Tim Shivers and John Kidd
compete in lionfish derbies.

514
00:24:19,833 --> 00:24:23,133
These competitions
can award big prizes

515
00:24:23,133 --> 00:24:25,300
for catching the most lionfish

516
00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:28,366
and can temporarily
decrease populations.

517
00:24:30,133 --> 00:24:32,166
SHIVERS:
So I've lived here
pretty much all my life.

518
00:24:32,166 --> 00:24:34,966
And we really didn't
start seeing many lionfish

519
00:24:34,966 --> 00:24:37,333
in this area until
about '08, '09,

520
00:24:37,333 --> 00:24:38,766
somewhere
around in that time.

521
00:24:38,766 --> 00:24:42,100
SHIVERS:
Shortly thereafter,
there was, like, a large

522
00:24:42,100 --> 00:24:43,900
boom of them that just seemed

523
00:24:43,900 --> 00:24:45,800
to keep coming in and coming in,
and...

524
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,733
The lionfish
don't tend to run off,

525
00:24:48,733 --> 00:24:53,000
as you imagine they would, when
being shot with a, a spear.

526
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:54,633
They don't even see
us as a predator

527
00:24:54,633 --> 00:24:56,166
when we go down there.

528
00:24:56,166 --> 00:24:59,000
They, there's no recognition
that we're even there.

529
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,366
They just tend to keep
on doing what they do.

530
00:25:01,366 --> 00:25:03,033
FOGG:
They're not very active hunters.

531
00:25:03,033 --> 00:25:05,033
So, when you drop down
a bait to fish for

532
00:25:05,033 --> 00:25:07,233
your snapper and grouper,
lionfish are generally

533
00:25:07,233 --> 00:25:09,066
not going to eat that hook.

534
00:25:09,066 --> 00:25:10,966
So, it really comes down
to divers going out

535
00:25:10,966 --> 00:25:12,933
and harvesting lionfish
with a spear.

536
00:25:12,933 --> 00:25:14,433
KIDD:
You don't spear lionfish

537
00:25:14,433 --> 00:25:16,566
like you would spear
any other fish.

538
00:25:16,566 --> 00:25:18,866
We take down something
called a zookeeper,

539
00:25:18,866 --> 00:25:21,766
which is just
basically a PVC tube

540
00:25:21,766 --> 00:25:25,066
with a, a funnel on,
in the top of it.

541
00:25:25,066 --> 00:25:28,066
And we also use
this much shorter

542
00:25:28,066 --> 00:25:30,600
Hawaiian sling-style spear

543
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,033
with a paralyzer tip

544
00:25:33,033 --> 00:25:35,266
at the end, with three barbs.

545
00:25:35,266 --> 00:25:37,400
You can basically use

546
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,466
the structure
to push against it

547
00:25:40,466 --> 00:25:43,566
and push the elastic band back,

548
00:25:43,566 --> 00:25:46,266
and hold it here,

549
00:25:46,266 --> 00:25:49,233
point, and release
to shoot the spear.

550
00:25:49,233 --> 00:25:52,533
WASHINGTON:
But spearfishing doesn't
come without its risks.

551
00:25:52,533 --> 00:25:55,633
As I learned on my
dive with lionfish,

552
00:25:55,633 --> 00:25:58,233
you have to be very
careful around them.

553
00:25:58,233 --> 00:26:01,866
With 18 loaded venomous spines,

554
00:26:01,866 --> 00:26:05,333
they have a very dangerous side.

555
00:26:05,333 --> 00:26:08,100
The venom is
a defense mechanism.

556
00:26:08,100 --> 00:26:11,800
One slip of the hand could
lead to an intolerable pain,

557
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:16,100
with symptoms
remaining for weeks.

558
00:26:16,100 --> 00:26:18,700
And it's probably,
maybe like a jellyfish

559
00:26:18,700 --> 00:26:22,166
times 5,000--
I mean, it's, it's very painful.

560
00:26:22,166 --> 00:26:24,066
Have you ever been
hit by a stingray?

561
00:26:24,066 --> 00:26:26,000
I got hit by a
stingray in my foot,

562
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:29,000
and that was, I thought,
the most painful experience

563
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,466
of my life until
I got hit by a lionfish.

564
00:26:31,466 --> 00:26:33,466
It was six hours of
the most excruciating pain

565
00:26:33,466 --> 00:26:35,766
I have ever experienced.

566
00:26:35,766 --> 00:26:37,966
SHIVERS:
One of them actually
went under my ring,

567
00:26:37,966 --> 00:26:41,333
and by the time we could
get me back in to land,

568
00:26:41,333 --> 00:26:43,333
it was two-and-a-half
hours later,

569
00:26:43,333 --> 00:26:44,933
and you couldn't
even see my ring.

570
00:26:44,933 --> 00:26:46,966
It was swollen up so bad,
I had to be taken in

571
00:26:46,966 --> 00:26:48,766
to the hospital
and they had to cut it off.

572
00:26:48,766 --> 00:26:51,166
And it took about two weeks

573
00:26:51,166 --> 00:26:53,100
for it to really get
back to the normal size.

574
00:26:53,100 --> 00:26:56,333
WASHINGTON:
Despite the danger,
spearfishing could make

575
00:26:56,333 --> 00:26:59,200
managing lionfish
populations possible,

576
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,233
down to about 130 feet.

577
00:27:02,233 --> 00:27:06,033
But scientists have made
a troubling discovery.

578
00:27:06,033 --> 00:27:09,066
Lionfish seem to be
venturing beyond

579
00:27:09,066 --> 00:27:11,366
the diving range
for spearfishing--

580
00:27:11,366 --> 00:27:14,233
to deeper, darker depths.

581
00:27:14,233 --> 00:27:17,900
What damage could they
be doing down there,

582
00:27:17,900 --> 00:27:20,200
out of human sight?

583
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:24,133
♪ ♪

584
00:27:24,133 --> 00:27:26,700
BALDWIN:
Over the past ten years,
we have been

585
00:27:26,700 --> 00:27:29,533
exploring the deep-reef areas

586
00:27:29,533 --> 00:27:32,666
from about 200 feet
down to 1,000 feet.

587
00:27:32,666 --> 00:27:35,133
Initially, when we
started the sub diving,

588
00:27:35,133 --> 00:27:37,400
we didn't know half
of what we were seeing,

589
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:39,800
partly because none
of these things had ever

590
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,200
been seen alive,

591
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:43,733
but more importantly,
most of them

592
00:27:43,733 --> 00:27:45,733
had never been discovered
before.

593
00:27:45,733 --> 00:27:47,866
WASHINGTON:
Marine biologists
Carole Baldwin

594
00:27:47,866 --> 00:27:51,633
and Luke Tornabene have
discovered over 30 new

595
00:27:51,633 --> 00:27:55,233
deep-reef species during
their decade of research

596
00:27:55,233 --> 00:27:58,300
off the Caribbean island
of Curaçao.

597
00:27:58,300 --> 00:28:01,033
But then, they saw something

598
00:28:01,033 --> 00:28:03,733
they never expected.

599
00:28:03,733 --> 00:28:06,033
We saw the first record of,
of lionfish consuming

600
00:28:06,033 --> 00:28:08,633
a species that we didn't
even have a name for yet.

601
00:28:08,633 --> 00:28:10,766
So that kind of switched the,

602
00:28:10,766 --> 00:28:13,100
the lights on
in our brains to say,

603
00:28:13,100 --> 00:28:15,133
"We gotta start catching
these things."

604
00:28:15,133 --> 00:28:18,766
WASHINGTON:
But why lionfish would be
hanging out deep is a mystery.

605
00:28:18,766 --> 00:28:23,766
There's less food down there,
it's barren, and cold,

606
00:28:23,766 --> 00:28:26,533
so it's a bit of a paradox,
considering lionfish's

607
00:28:26,533 --> 00:28:29,866
relentless appetite
and its many adaptations

608
00:28:29,866 --> 00:28:32,233
for complex reef ecosystems.

609
00:28:32,233 --> 00:28:35,000
TORNABENE:
The number-one priority
right now is understanding

610
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,633
the extinction risk
that lionfish pose

611
00:28:37,633 --> 00:28:40,233
to deep-reef native fishes.

612
00:28:40,233 --> 00:28:42,900
And to do that,
our major goal is

613
00:28:42,900 --> 00:28:45,866
to collect as many lionfish
from deep reefs as possible.

614
00:28:47,933 --> 00:28:50,933
WASHINGTON:
Each dive is six to eight
hours long.

615
00:28:52,666 --> 00:28:55,066
They'll descend down
to 1,000 feet,

616
00:28:55,066 --> 00:28:57,800
searching for lionfish
along the way.

617
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,200
The goal is to collect
deep-dwelling lionfish

618
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,366
to later analyze their
gut contents.

619
00:29:07,833 --> 00:29:11,366
But it won't be easy.

620
00:29:11,366 --> 00:29:14,000
No one has ever
done this before.

621
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,566
TORNABENE:
Lionfish didn't
choose to be captured

622
00:29:16,566 --> 00:29:19,200
by people selling them
for the aquarium trade,

623
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,900
and they didn't
choose to be released

624
00:29:21,900 --> 00:29:24,166
in an entirely
different environment,

625
00:29:24,166 --> 00:29:25,866
but they're here.

626
00:29:25,866 --> 00:29:28,033
So it's not,
not so much that we have

627
00:29:28,033 --> 00:29:30,000
a personal vendetta
against these species,

628
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,200
but lionfish are a threat.

629
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,633
And we're just
beginning to understand

630
00:29:36,633 --> 00:29:38,800
how big of a threat that is,
especially to these

631
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:40,933
really sensitive
deep-reef environments.

632
00:29:42,533 --> 00:29:45,600
Yeah, so right now,
we're descending

633
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,933
to about 160 feet,

634
00:29:47,933 --> 00:29:50,766
making our way down
to around 600 feet.

635
00:29:50,766 --> 00:29:55,500
So this is all skeleton
of old, old ancient reefs

636
00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:58,166
that are now home
to a community of fishes

637
00:29:58,166 --> 00:30:01,866
that live only in this
narrow slice of the ocean.

638
00:30:01,866 --> 00:30:04,766
(man speaking on radio)

639
00:30:04,766 --> 00:30:06,733
Copy that, be advised,

640
00:30:06,733 --> 00:30:08,666
we are heading to, uh,

641
00:30:08,666 --> 00:30:10,500
around 600?

642
00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:14,600
To around 600, 500,
600 feet for lionfish.

643
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,566
TORNABENE:
Let's shoot
some lionfish.

644
00:30:17,566 --> 00:30:19,233
(machine whirring)

645
00:30:19,233 --> 00:30:21,100
TORNABENE (grunts):
I don't know where the lionfish
went,

646
00:30:21,100 --> 00:30:22,533
but he's around here somewhere.
MAN: Yeah, and we'll be here to
find him.

647
00:30:22,533 --> 00:30:23,933
TORNABENE:
There he is, right there,
right there.

648
00:30:23,933 --> 00:30:24,933
CHRISTIAAN: Where?
TORNABENE: Down, straight down.

649
00:30:24,933 --> 00:30:26,066
CHRISTIAAN:
All right.

650
00:30:26,066 --> 00:30:27,066
TORNABENE:
All right, so we've got

651
00:30:27,066 --> 00:30:29,000
a lionfish here at 513 feet,

652
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,033
and he's corralling some...

653
00:30:31,033 --> 00:30:32,933
One of the more
common species down here,

654
00:30:32,933 --> 00:30:34,533
a rough-tongued bass.

655
00:30:34,533 --> 00:30:36,166
Spearing a lionfish with
a six-and-a-half-ton

656
00:30:36,166 --> 00:30:38,533
submersible, pulling
it off the spear,

657
00:30:38,533 --> 00:30:40,766
putting it into a basket,
reloading the spear,

658
00:30:40,766 --> 00:30:43,600
and firing again to shoot
multiple lionfish

659
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,300
on a dive was something that

660
00:30:45,300 --> 00:30:47,600
we were unsure if we were
gonna be able to do.

661
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:49,066
TORNABENE:
Right, right, right,
right, right, right.

662
00:30:49,066 --> 00:30:50,533
No, you're too high, you're too
high, you're too high.

663
00:30:50,533 --> 00:30:51,533
Right, we're right there,
though.

664
00:30:51,533 --> 00:30:52,800
He's, he's not
moving.

665
00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:54,800
To your right.

666
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:56,933
Now.
(machine whirrs)

667
00:30:56,933 --> 00:30:58,100
(whirring)

668
00:30:58,100 --> 00:31:02,133
Okay, I will now
apply the anesthetic.

669
00:31:02,133 --> 00:31:05,633
WASHINGTON:
The anesthetic is used
to numb and knock out the fish,

670
00:31:05,633 --> 00:31:08,666
preventing them from
wriggling their way to escape.

671
00:31:08,666 --> 00:31:10,833
They are tough,

672
00:31:10,833 --> 00:31:12,833
so it sometimes
takes a few tries.

673
00:31:12,833 --> 00:31:14,433
TORNABENE:
Oh, there he goes.

674
00:31:14,433 --> 00:31:17,200
(machine whirring)
I forgot how hard this was.

675
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,266
If you're spearing
when you're on scuba,

676
00:31:19,266 --> 00:31:22,766
and you, your, your spear
gets stuck in the reef,

677
00:31:22,766 --> 00:31:24,766
you just grab it and pull
it out, or if you miss

678
00:31:24,766 --> 00:31:27,600
a lionfish, you can reload
in a second and fire again.

679
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,466
And once you've got it
on the end of your spear,

680
00:31:29,466 --> 00:31:31,433
you just literally
push it into a bucket.

681
00:31:31,433 --> 00:31:33,733
Every step of that process,

682
00:31:33,733 --> 00:31:35,700
from finding the lionfish,
to approaching it,

683
00:31:35,700 --> 00:31:37,433
to spearing it,
to getting it off the reef

684
00:31:37,433 --> 00:31:39,100
and getting it to the surface,

685
00:31:39,100 --> 00:31:41,933
is exponentially harder
with a submarine.

686
00:31:43,433 --> 00:31:45,600
BRUCE BRANDT:
Oh... There you go, right.

687
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:46,933
That's the next one.

688
00:31:46,933 --> 00:31:48,533
What the (bleep).
TORNABENE:
(bleep) hell.

689
00:31:48,533 --> 00:31:50,533
Nice shot-- straight back now,
straight out.

690
00:31:50,533 --> 00:31:51,866
CHRISTIAAN:
Awesome shot.

691
00:31:51,866 --> 00:31:53,300
TORNABENE:
Okay, great shot.

692
00:31:53,300 --> 00:31:55,100
Oh-- he's okay, we're going
to have to do it again.

693
00:31:55,100 --> 00:31:56,900
I'm going to get
ready to reload.

694
00:31:56,900 --> 00:32:00,633
WASHINGTON:
The whole process is a precise
unchoreographed waltz

695
00:32:00,633 --> 00:32:04,233
between piloting the sub
and operating its robotic arms.

696
00:32:04,233 --> 00:32:06,733
(machine whirring)

697
00:32:06,733 --> 00:32:12,833
♪ ♪

698
00:32:12,833 --> 00:32:14,266
TORNABENE:
There he goes.

699
00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:18,466
Oh, it bounced off.

700
00:32:18,466 --> 00:32:21,166
WASHINGTON:
Adding to the extreme challenge,

701
00:32:21,166 --> 00:32:24,200
the spear gun mechanism
is starting to act up,

702
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,233
which could compromise
the whole dive,

703
00:32:27,233 --> 00:32:29,900
leaving the team with
only one more day

704
00:32:29,900 --> 00:32:32,066
to get the samples they need

705
00:32:32,066 --> 00:32:34,733
to figure out what these
lionfish are doing down there.

706
00:32:34,733 --> 00:32:38,133
The spear gun isn't cocking
very well right now.

707
00:32:38,133 --> 00:32:40,033
Bent prongs are okay,
we can fix that.

708
00:32:40,033 --> 00:32:42,466
But if we can't reload it,

709
00:32:42,466 --> 00:32:44,600
then we're kind of screwed.

710
00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:46,700
MAN: Those barbs are...
MAN: Too good.

711
00:32:46,700 --> 00:32:49,133
TORNABENE:
Yeah.
MAN: Yeah, pretty good.

712
00:32:52,533 --> 00:32:54,466
TORNABENE:
Okay.

713
00:32:54,466 --> 00:32:56,766
Good, okay.

714
00:32:56,766 --> 00:33:00,833
(machine whirring)

715
00:33:00,833 --> 00:33:02,700
CHRISTIAAN:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's
it-- all right.

716
00:33:02,700 --> 00:33:04,333
All right, keep it there,
keep it there.

717
00:33:04,333 --> 00:33:06,800
Yeah, bring it up, bring him up,
bring him up-- yeah.

718
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,633
TORNABENE:
Well, get out, get out in open
water-- oh...

719
00:33:09,633 --> 00:33:12,666
(machine whirring)

720
00:33:12,666 --> 00:33:14,400
CHRISTIAAN:
All right, oh, oh, oh...

721
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,100
TORNABENE:
Oh, good, good, good, good,
good, good, good.

722
00:33:16,100 --> 00:33:18,366
Good, head first--
swish.

723
00:33:18,366 --> 00:33:20,066
CHRISTIAAN:
Yeah, I'm going, I'm going,
I'm going.

724
00:33:20,066 --> 00:33:21,466
TORNABENE:
Whoo!
(laughs)

725
00:33:21,466 --> 00:33:23,100
CHRISTIAAN:
Nice job!

726
00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:25,933
MATT GIRARD:
That's one.
(all laughing)

727
00:33:25,933 --> 00:33:28,266
It's okay, we got one.

728
00:33:28,266 --> 00:33:30,533
Whew!
(laughs)

729
00:33:30,533 --> 00:33:32,466
Hey, if this was easy,
everybody with a submarine

730
00:33:32,466 --> 00:33:34,033
would be doing it, right?

731
00:33:34,033 --> 00:33:35,200
CHRISTIAAN:
Yeah, that's true.

732
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,733
Wow, all right!

733
00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:41,800
I hope his stomach is full

734
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:43,133
of important
information, 'cause...

735
00:33:43,133 --> 00:33:44,400
CHRISTIAAN:
What depth was that?

736
00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,066
Uh, what did we start with?

737
00:33:46,066 --> 00:33:47,633
You wrote it down, right?

738
00:33:47,633 --> 00:33:49,000
GIRARD:
We started with 564.

739
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,633
CHRISTIAAN:
Oh, 564, okay.

740
00:33:51,633 --> 00:33:54,833
WASHINGTON:
After hours in the submersible,

741
00:33:54,833 --> 00:33:57,733
Luke and his team
collected only one lionfish

742
00:33:57,733 --> 00:33:59,900
due to the malfunctioning spear.

743
00:34:01,733 --> 00:34:05,066
If they can't fix the spear
for the final dive tomorrow,

744
00:34:05,066 --> 00:34:08,866
they won't have enough samples
to effectively analyze

745
00:34:08,866 --> 00:34:11,300
deep-water invasive lionfish.

746
00:34:11,300 --> 00:34:15,200
Rallying hard against the clock,

747
00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:16,566
that night, they work on
modifying

748
00:34:16,566 --> 00:34:20,400
the entire
spear mechanism before morning.

749
00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:24,200
♪ ♪

750
00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:28,400
CHRISTIAAN:
Port side is 2,000.

751
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,033
Starboard side same, 2,000.

752
00:34:31,033 --> 00:34:33,633
And current depth is 475.

753
00:34:33,633 --> 00:34:34,766
All starboards functioning.

754
00:34:34,766 --> 00:34:36,933
Closer.

755
00:34:36,933 --> 00:34:37,933
TORNABENE:
Left, up.

756
00:34:37,933 --> 00:34:39,233
Up, up, up, up-- there.

757
00:34:39,233 --> 00:34:43,233
(machine whirrs)
Nice.

758
00:34:43,233 --> 00:34:46,000
WASHINGTON:
The modifications
to the spear gun pay off.

759
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,533
The sub becomes like
the lionfish itself,

760
00:34:49,533 --> 00:34:53,133
and slowly creeps up
on its prey.

761
00:34:53,133 --> 00:34:56,300
When the moment is right,
it pounces.

762
00:34:56,300 --> 00:34:58,733
This time, the team
is able to reload

763
00:34:58,733 --> 00:35:00,333
the spear easily

764
00:35:00,333 --> 00:35:03,033
and continue the hunt.

765
00:35:03,033 --> 00:35:05,166
MAZZOTTI:
As wildlife biologists,

766
00:35:05,166 --> 00:35:07,500
I can tell you that we

767
00:35:07,500 --> 00:35:10,533
did not become wildlife
biologists to kill wildlife,

768
00:35:10,533 --> 00:35:13,033
but we realize the importance

769
00:35:13,033 --> 00:35:15,966
of doing that because
of the other impacts

770
00:35:15,966 --> 00:35:18,166
that these species
are going to have.

771
00:35:18,166 --> 00:35:19,633
It's not something

772
00:35:19,633 --> 00:35:22,200
that we enjoy, but it is
something, as biologists,

773
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,333
we simply realize
the necessity of doing.

774
00:35:25,333 --> 00:35:28,033
TORNABENE:
What's the count, Sarah, seven?

775
00:35:28,033 --> 00:35:29,533
SARAH YERRACE:
I believe it's seven.
All right.

776
00:35:29,533 --> 00:35:30,766
I'll call that a
victory for a dive.

777
00:35:30,766 --> 00:35:34,866
♪ ♪

778
00:35:40,700 --> 00:35:46,433
♪ ♪

779
00:35:51,133 --> 00:35:53,700
TORNABENE:
Behaviorally, you know, when we
find them in the shallows,

780
00:35:53,700 --> 00:35:55,133
they're doing
a really great job

781
00:35:55,133 --> 00:35:57,766
at camouflaging themselves
and ambushing prey.

782
00:35:57,766 --> 00:35:59,900
Whereas when we look at them
in the deep reefs,

783
00:35:59,900 --> 00:36:02,033
they're out in
the middle of nowhere,

784
00:36:02,033 --> 00:36:05,266
just wandering out
the open plains, hunting.

785
00:36:05,266 --> 00:36:06,500
So, we already see
some behavioral differences

786
00:36:06,500 --> 00:36:08,766
between shallow
and deepwater lionfish.

787
00:36:08,766 --> 00:36:11,233
So hopefully we'll see some
diet differences, as well.

788
00:36:11,233 --> 00:36:13,600
WASHINGTON:
Luke will return to his lab

789
00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,000
to analyze the guts
of these lionfish.

790
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,566
He's now seen
firsthand how lionfish

791
00:36:19,566 --> 00:36:22,800
have infiltrated
deep-sea ecosystems.

792
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:24,933
TORNABENE:
Managing lionfish below

793
00:36:24,933 --> 00:36:26,833
scuba diving depth
is gonna be a challenge.

794
00:36:26,833 --> 00:36:28,900
It's a challenge that
welcomes innovation.

795
00:36:28,900 --> 00:36:31,200
So far, lionfish
have been shown

796
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:32,700
to not respond
very well to many

797
00:36:32,700 --> 00:36:34,333
of the traps that are used
to catch other fishes.

798
00:36:34,333 --> 00:36:39,433
So, how do we remove
deep-reef lionfish?

799
00:36:39,433 --> 00:36:42,533
♪ ♪

800
00:36:42,533 --> 00:36:45,133
WASHINGTON:
Back in Florida,
I join some researchers

801
00:36:45,133 --> 00:36:47,166
who are taking on
this challenge.

802
00:36:48,500 --> 00:36:51,033
They're testing
a new lionfish trap,

803
00:36:51,033 --> 00:36:52,900
the Gittings trap.

804
00:36:52,900 --> 00:36:57,766
It could be the next frontier
in managing deep-sea lionfish.

805
00:36:57,766 --> 00:37:04,300
♪ ♪

806
00:37:04,300 --> 00:37:06,100
So this is a trap,
the Gittings trap.

807
00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:07,266
Gittings trap.

808
00:37:07,266 --> 00:37:10,300
Let's get some of
this gear out first.

809
00:37:10,300 --> 00:37:11,666
Make sure everything
is ready to go before

810
00:37:11,666 --> 00:37:13,333
we get on the boat.

811
00:37:13,333 --> 00:37:14,666
There we go.
It's a lot easier to fix
something in the parking lot,

812
00:37:14,666 --> 00:37:16,333
then fix it on a
moving vessel.
Exactly.

813
00:37:16,333 --> 00:37:19,333
We're gonna
open it up.
There it is.

814
00:37:19,333 --> 00:37:21,266
Wow.
Awesome, great.

815
00:37:21,266 --> 00:37:22,733
So is this
the future?

816
00:37:22,733 --> 00:37:24,333
Is this what
deepwater, you know,

817
00:37:24,333 --> 00:37:25,866
collection of these
lionfish looks like?

818
00:37:25,866 --> 00:37:28,000
So that's exactly
the research that

819
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,266
we're trying to find
out right now.

820
00:37:29,266 --> 00:37:31,266
We are currently in
the beginning of those

821
00:37:31,266 --> 00:37:33,666
research processes
in the Florida Keys

822
00:37:33,666 --> 00:37:38,366
to try to contain this invasive
species in deeper depths.

823
00:37:38,366 --> 00:37:40,733
WASHINGTON:
What's the average depth that
you normally put this down at?

824
00:37:40,733 --> 00:37:42,233
BRYANT:
So the goal to put,

825
00:37:42,233 --> 00:37:43,233
for these traps,
is gonna be

826
00:37:43,233 --> 00:37:44,366
200 to 300
feet of water.

827
00:37:44,366 --> 00:37:45,733
So this is truly
deep water.

828
00:37:45,733 --> 00:37:47,833
Truly out
of recreational

829
00:37:47,833 --> 00:37:49,800
diving limits,
and deep water.

830
00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:53,766
WASHINGTON:
I help Alexa Bryant
and Madalyn Mussey,

831
00:37:53,766 --> 00:37:57,900
A.K.A. Moose, gear up
the boat to test some traps.

832
00:37:57,900 --> 00:38:00,300
The ultimate goal
of their research

833
00:38:00,300 --> 00:38:04,700
is to make a trap that
fishers can consistently use.

834
00:38:04,700 --> 00:38:07,200
(chuckling)

835
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,033
Sweet-- that was
actually great.

836
00:38:09,033 --> 00:38:10,566
Then you're just gonna
lay that on top of here.

837
00:38:10,566 --> 00:38:12,166
WASHINGTON: So it's
gonna lay on here?
MUSSEY: Yep.

838
00:38:12,166 --> 00:38:13,933
Legs out, there we go.

839
00:38:13,933 --> 00:38:15,600
Perfect.
And just like that.

840
00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:17,333
That was all it took!
That was it.

841
00:38:17,333 --> 00:38:19,233
(laughing)

842
00:38:19,233 --> 00:38:22,133
WASHINGTON:
In the final step
before deployment,

843
00:38:22,133 --> 00:38:25,133
Lex attaches a sound
recorder to the trap.

844
00:38:25,133 --> 00:38:26,833
Why?

845
00:38:26,833 --> 00:38:29,500
Apparently, lionfish make
sounds.

846
00:38:29,500 --> 00:38:32,833
Lex and Moose are
experimenting with this device

847
00:38:32,833 --> 00:38:35,966
to get an understanding
of their presence at depths

848
00:38:35,966 --> 00:38:37,633
too deep for cameras.

849
00:38:37,633 --> 00:38:39,566
WASHINGTON:
And how sensitive
is the recorder?

850
00:38:39,566 --> 00:38:42,233
They have to be
pretty close

851
00:38:42,233 --> 00:38:44,600
to be able to
record the sound,

852
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:46,700
which is okay, because
what we realistically want

853
00:38:46,700 --> 00:38:49,600
to have is them near
the trap or on the trap.

854
00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:51,833
So we'll be able to know
if they're on the trap

855
00:38:51,833 --> 00:38:56,066
because they can't
record super-far away.

856
00:38:56,066 --> 00:38:58,700
Can you mimic a
lionfish sound?

857
00:38:58,700 --> 00:39:00,666
Oh, man--
Moose probably can.

858
00:39:00,666 --> 00:39:02,833
(laughing)
How do they do?

859
00:39:02,833 --> 00:39:04,500
I don't know, I'm trying
to think of the

860
00:39:04,500 --> 00:39:06,100
best way to imitate it--
like I said,

861
00:39:06,100 --> 00:39:08,066
it's like a purring,
grunting, almost...
Yeah.

862
00:39:08,066 --> 00:39:09,600
It's like...
Purring, grunting?

863
00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:11,533
It's like a cat.
(hooting)

864
00:39:11,533 --> 00:39:12,900
I don't know how to say,
it's, like,

865
00:39:12,900 --> 00:39:14,733
but it's more
purring than that.

866
00:39:14,733 --> 00:39:17,566
(tape player stops)
WASHINGTON: A lionfish
actually sounds like this.

867
00:39:17,566 --> 00:39:22,766
(lionfish making pulsing sound)

868
00:39:22,766 --> 00:39:24,400
(tape player resumes)
All we gotta
do is just lift it

869
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:25,833
into the water
and let it drop...

870
00:39:25,833 --> 00:39:27,400
BRYANT:
All right, Moose,
you ready to go?

871
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,333
Yep!
Sweet,
you guys got it.

872
00:39:29,333 --> 00:39:31,266
MUSSEY: Just lift it.
BRYANT:
Drop it over the side.

873
00:39:31,266 --> 00:39:32,533
WASHINGTON:
There we go, in the water.

874
00:39:32,533 --> 00:39:33,566
MUSSEY:
In the water, there it goes.

875
00:39:33,566 --> 00:39:36,033
BRYANT:
Awesome, that's it.

876
00:39:36,033 --> 00:39:37,600
Let this out,
let this out.

877
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:39,033
I just felt
it hit the bottom.

878
00:39:39,033 --> 00:39:40,600
Great.
WASHINGTON:
There we go.

879
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:42,966
WASHINGTON:
The trap is like
a hula hoop with hinges

880
00:39:42,966 --> 00:39:45,566
that allow it to open and close.

881
00:39:45,566 --> 00:39:47,233
Made with materials
that can be found

882
00:39:47,233 --> 00:39:49,000
at the local hardware store,

883
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,033
its simple engineering
is impressive.

884
00:39:51,033 --> 00:39:52,733
BRYANT:
And I'm gonna let that over.

885
00:39:52,733 --> 00:39:54,466
Throw that bullet, buoy in,
toss it in.

886
00:39:54,466 --> 00:39:56,266
Bye-bye.

887
00:39:56,266 --> 00:39:57,833
Nice, there we go.

888
00:39:57,833 --> 00:39:59,700
Nice.
We're ready to go.

889
00:39:59,700 --> 00:40:02,566
WASHINGTON:
As I witnessed in
the Gulf of Mexico,

890
00:40:02,566 --> 00:40:04,900
lionfish cannot
resist structure,

891
00:40:04,900 --> 00:40:09,433
so while other fish
come and go, they stay.

892
00:40:09,433 --> 00:40:13,333
It becomes a trap only when
it's pulled up to the surface.

893
00:40:13,333 --> 00:40:16,866
The net base closes around
the congregated lionfish,

894
00:40:16,866 --> 00:40:19,200
taking them with it.

895
00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:24,433
So far, they've caught as
many as 20 lionfish in a trap,

896
00:40:24,433 --> 00:40:27,766
but the overall
effectiveness of these traps

897
00:40:27,766 --> 00:40:30,066
remains to be seen.

898
00:40:30,066 --> 00:40:32,366
Understanding the fish's
deepwater behavior

899
00:40:32,366 --> 00:40:35,266
will help researchers
continue to tweak the design

900
00:40:35,266 --> 00:40:38,133
or come up with
new ideas altogether.

901
00:40:41,166 --> 00:40:44,633
At the University of Washington,
Luke Tornabene continues

902
00:40:44,633 --> 00:40:48,233
his investigation of Curaçao
deepwater lionfish.

903
00:40:50,466 --> 00:40:54,266
DNA analysis of their
gut contents might give Luke

904
00:40:54,266 --> 00:40:58,466
and lab assistant Megan Ewing
a clearer understanding

905
00:40:58,466 --> 00:41:01,766
of these deep-roaming invaders.

906
00:41:03,666 --> 00:41:05,800
All right.

907
00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:07,900
Here are the beauties.

908
00:41:07,900 --> 00:41:10,266
(sniffs)

909
00:41:10,266 --> 00:41:14,466
First up is...

910
00:41:14,466 --> 00:41:17,133
Let's do this guy first.

911
00:41:17,133 --> 00:41:19,133
Oh, that's a,
that's a chunky belly.

912
00:41:19,133 --> 00:41:20,433
That's a chunky belly.

913
00:41:20,433 --> 00:41:23,033
That's a chunky belly--
all right.

914
00:41:23,033 --> 00:41:26,300
WASHINGTON:
Megan cuts open a lionfish
stomach to scoop out

915
00:41:26,300 --> 00:41:30,066
the gut contents and puts
them into a petri dish.

916
00:41:30,066 --> 00:41:32,866
TORNABENE:
Okay, so this is a fish.

917
00:41:32,866 --> 00:41:34,500
Can't tell what
type of fish it is,

918
00:41:34,500 --> 00:41:36,633
but you can still
see the backbone.

919
00:41:36,633 --> 00:41:38,166
So this might be one fish.

920
00:41:38,166 --> 00:41:40,966
This could be ten fish,
could be four fish.

921
00:41:40,966 --> 00:41:43,866
Um, we'll know once we get
the DNA sequence data back.

922
00:41:43,866 --> 00:41:46,266
This is all gonna get ground
up into a mortar and pestle

923
00:41:46,266 --> 00:41:49,833
and be put into
a tube to be extracted.

924
00:41:49,833 --> 00:41:51,766
It's like lionfish
guacamole.
Mm-hmm.

925
00:41:51,766 --> 00:41:55,366
While you're doing that,
I'm gonna rinse out the stuff.

926
00:41:55,366 --> 00:41:57,400
(chuckling):
Lionfish guacamole?

927
00:41:57,400 --> 00:41:59,066
I'm just registering
now what you said.

928
00:41:59,066 --> 00:42:00,866
(laughing)

929
00:42:00,866 --> 00:42:03,600
WASHINGTON:
Over years of research,

930
00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:07,466
Luke has contributed to a
large database of fish DNA.

931
00:42:07,466 --> 00:42:10,733
He can cross-reference
the species he finds

932
00:42:10,733 --> 00:42:13,666
in the lionfish's
stomach with the depth

933
00:42:13,666 --> 00:42:15,600
of where that fish lives.

934
00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:18,166
This means he can figure out
not only what lionfish

935
00:42:18,166 --> 00:42:21,066
are eating, but where
they're eating it.

936
00:42:23,366 --> 00:42:26,466
After a week, Luke gets
his first batch of data

937
00:42:26,466 --> 00:42:29,566
and takes the first look
at what's inside the guts

938
00:42:29,566 --> 00:42:34,433
of a deep-reef lionfish
caught at 574 feet.

939
00:42:34,433 --> 00:42:35,766
There were two species
inside of its guts

940
00:42:35,766 --> 00:42:37,100
that jumped out at me.

941
00:42:37,100 --> 00:42:39,733
The first one was this
species of soldierfish,

942
00:42:39,733 --> 00:42:41,733
which occurs at
around 500 or 600 feet.

943
00:42:41,733 --> 00:42:43,333
So that's not a surprise.

944
00:42:43,333 --> 00:42:45,400
So that tells me that
the lionfish down deep

945
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,633
are eating species
that live down deep.

946
00:42:47,633 --> 00:42:50,433
Now, the cool thing that
we found, though, was that

947
00:42:50,433 --> 00:42:52,333
one of the species inside
of the lionfish's gut

948
00:42:52,333 --> 00:42:53,900
was this species
of damselfish.

949
00:42:53,900 --> 00:42:56,400
These damselfish are
probably the most common

950
00:42:56,400 --> 00:43:00,166
fish you'll see snorkeling,
uh, on a coral reef.

951
00:43:00,166 --> 00:43:02,366
So to find them inside
of the stomach of a fish

952
00:43:02,366 --> 00:43:06,500
at 574 feet is,
uh, pretty surprising.

953
00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:08,733
So right off the bat,
we know that this deepwater

954
00:43:08,733 --> 00:43:11,733
lionfish is eating both
shallow-water prey

955
00:43:11,733 --> 00:43:13,900
and deepwater prey.

956
00:43:13,900 --> 00:43:16,566
WASHINGTON:
Lionfish digest their
food extremely fast.

957
00:43:16,566 --> 00:43:19,300
So Luke's eye-opening
discovery means that

958
00:43:19,300 --> 00:43:22,566
this deep-reef lionfish
came up to the shallows

959
00:43:22,566 --> 00:43:26,033
to feed and then
traveled back down

960
00:43:26,033 --> 00:43:28,800
within a matter of hours.

961
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:31,100
TORNABENE:
In my eyes, it's actually
a better thing that

962
00:43:31,100 --> 00:43:32,900
the lionfish are coming up,
because it gives them

963
00:43:32,900 --> 00:43:34,633
a chance to get removed by

964
00:43:34,633 --> 00:43:37,400
recreational fishermen
or commercial fishermen.

965
00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:39,000
If we start sequencing
the guts of all of these

966
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:40,600
dozens and dozens
of deepwater lionfish,

967
00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:42,000
and every one
of them has something

968
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:45,566
shallow in its stomach,
that's good news.

969
00:43:45,566 --> 00:43:48,500
WASHINGTON:
This is just the
beginning of the research,

970
00:43:48,500 --> 00:43:50,900
and if this data
trend continues,

971
00:43:50,900 --> 00:43:54,166
it unlocks many
more questions.

972
00:43:54,166 --> 00:43:58,166
Like, why don't the lionfish
just stay in shallow water?

973
00:43:58,166 --> 00:44:01,833
Why go down deep at all
if there is less food there?

974
00:44:04,033 --> 00:44:07,700
No matter what,
invasive lionfish have

975
00:44:07,700 --> 00:44:11,066
the potential to impact
hundreds of thousands of people

976
00:44:11,066 --> 00:44:15,400
who make a living through
fisheries in the Caribbean.

977
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,166
But some countries,
like Curaçao,

978
00:44:18,166 --> 00:44:20,700
might be flipping
the script on the invader.

979
00:44:22,100 --> 00:44:25,766
Without traps, boats,
or even scuba gear,

980
00:44:25,766 --> 00:44:28,166
two local free divers start

981
00:44:28,166 --> 00:44:30,233
their evening along
the rocky coast.

982
00:44:30,233 --> 00:44:36,566
♪ ♪

983
00:44:36,566 --> 00:44:39,566
Joline ten Haken
and Farra Figaroa

984
00:44:39,566 --> 00:44:43,166
have taken up hunting
lionfish for side income.

985
00:44:51,066 --> 00:44:54,100
I know Joline from
my swimming club.

986
00:44:54,100 --> 00:44:57,300
And, yeah, we met there,

987
00:44:57,300 --> 00:44:59,033
and one time she asked me,

988
00:44:59,033 --> 00:45:04,033
"Oh, do you want to go
hunt lionfish with me a day?"

989
00:45:04,033 --> 00:45:07,033
I was, like,
"Okay, we can try one day."

990
00:45:07,033 --> 00:45:09,866
And then I started doing it.

991
00:45:09,866 --> 00:45:14,600
Almost every weekend,
we catch lionfish, yeah.

992
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:19,366
♪ ♪

993
00:45:24,633 --> 00:45:30,366
TEN HAKEN:
You feel very free because
you're without any equipment.

994
00:45:30,366 --> 00:45:34,200
It's just ourselves and our,
our bodies and our stamina.

995
00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:38,400
♪ ♪

996
00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:40,866
There's sea all
around the island,

997
00:45:40,866 --> 00:45:44,033
and if there's something
that Curaçao has,

998
00:45:44,033 --> 00:45:46,033
it's sea and fish,

999
00:45:46,033 --> 00:45:49,700
so it's really good
to go out here and, and fish.

1000
00:45:49,700 --> 00:45:54,733
♪ ♪

1001
00:45:59,266 --> 00:46:04,366
♪ ♪

1002
00:46:08,533 --> 00:46:10,866
One of us has got
the zookeeper,

1003
00:46:10,866 --> 00:46:14,966
and the other one
went looking for fish.

1004
00:46:14,966 --> 00:46:18,033
And as soon as we saw one,
we just go down

1005
00:46:18,033 --> 00:46:21,166
and we, we try to catch him.

1006
00:46:21,166 --> 00:46:22,166
FIGAROA:
Yeah.

1007
00:46:22,166 --> 00:46:25,633
♪ ♪

1008
00:46:25,633 --> 00:46:27,933
Yeah, I also do it
as a side job.

1009
00:46:27,933 --> 00:46:31,200
I'm 15 and I always wanted
to have a side job

1010
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:35,666
and get a lot of, a little bit
of money to buy things.

1011
00:46:35,666 --> 00:46:38,333
♪ ♪

1012
00:46:38,333 --> 00:46:40,366
No, it's a really good day.

1013
00:46:40,366 --> 00:46:42,666
TEN HAKEN: Yeah.
FIGAROA:
Yeah, like, nine kilos?

1014
00:46:42,666 --> 00:46:44,166
TEN HAKEN: I guess.

1015
00:46:44,166 --> 00:46:46,233
FIGAROA:
It's, yeah, I think it's
nine kilos-- it's a lot.

1016
00:46:46,233 --> 00:46:52,000
♪ ♪

1017
00:46:56,700 --> 00:47:01,033
♪ ♪

1018
00:47:01,033 --> 00:47:04,433
Now we're going
to put 'em in a...

1019
00:47:04,433 --> 00:47:05,800
(speaks world language)
TEN HAKEN:
Cooler.

1020
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,200
Cooler, and then we,
we bring it to a restaurant

1021
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:11,566
where they sell them,

1022
00:47:11,566 --> 00:47:14,700
where they sell the lionfish,
and they make a lot of dishes.

1023
00:47:16,566 --> 00:47:17,900
TEN HAKEN:
It's very funny story.

1024
00:47:17,900 --> 00:47:21,566
In fact, Farra actually
didn't eat fish before

1025
00:47:21,566 --> 00:47:22,933
she started hunting lionfish.

1026
00:47:22,933 --> 00:47:25,666
And now she, she hunted,

1027
00:47:25,666 --> 00:47:27,366
hunts lionfish,
she had to start eating them,

1028
00:47:27,366 --> 00:47:30,066
and she actually
really likes them.

1029
00:47:30,066 --> 00:47:32,000
WASHINGTON:
Farra and Joline are two

1030
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,333
of the many divers
on the island

1031
00:47:34,333 --> 00:47:38,166
who have helped turn the
lionfish's Atlantic invasion

1032
00:47:38,166 --> 00:47:40,833
into a commercial opportunity.

1033
00:47:40,833 --> 00:47:43,233
As awareness builds,
invasive lionfish

1034
00:47:43,233 --> 00:47:46,933
are becoming an increasingly
popular local dish.

1035
00:47:46,933 --> 00:47:50,300
The fish can be used
to create island favorites,

1036
00:47:50,300 --> 00:47:54,000
whether it's ceviche
or fried whole.

1037
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:57,533
And the lionfish are not
just caught for eating.

1038
00:47:57,533 --> 00:48:00,933
Some businesses are
finding creative ways

1039
00:48:00,933 --> 00:48:04,233
of using every part
of the lionfish's body,

1040
00:48:04,233 --> 00:48:06,033
like the venomous spines,

1041
00:48:06,033 --> 00:48:08,800
to create jewelry
and other products.

1042
00:48:12,900 --> 00:48:15,500
Hola!
WOMEN:
Hola!

1043
00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:17,733
Todos bien?
Sí.

1044
00:48:17,733 --> 00:48:19,100
Pescado.

1045
00:48:19,100 --> 00:48:21,600
When I was a kid and was
snorkeling and diving here,

1046
00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:25,066
there were so many fish,
and also a lot of big fish.

1047
00:48:25,066 --> 00:48:29,266
And when I returned
after ten, 15 years,

1048
00:48:29,266 --> 00:48:31,166
you didn't see as
much fish anymore.

1049
00:48:31,166 --> 00:48:33,600
You saw the damage on the reef,
on the coral reefs.

1050
00:48:33,600 --> 00:48:36,133
From there, I got into

1051
00:48:36,133 --> 00:48:39,166
catching the lionfish, first
to control the population.

1052
00:48:39,166 --> 00:48:42,966
And from there,
selling it to restaurants.

1053
00:48:42,966 --> 00:48:45,033
And from there, the jewelry

1054
00:48:45,033 --> 00:48:46,900
to, to make a real life
out of that.

1055
00:48:46,900 --> 00:48:50,566
I definitely see that
it can be commercialized,

1056
00:48:50,566 --> 00:48:54,433
especially if you
use more of the fish,

1057
00:48:54,433 --> 00:48:56,900
and I definitely see
a future there, yeah.

1058
00:48:56,900 --> 00:48:59,766
Maybe even a franchise,
you never know.
(laughs)

1059
00:48:59,766 --> 00:49:03,466
WASHINGTON:
The key to lionfish
management might be,

1060
00:49:03,466 --> 00:49:06,800
turn them into menu items,
earrings, sneakers,

1061
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:09,666
whatever people buy--
because businesses that

1062
00:49:09,666 --> 00:49:12,466
revolve around invasive
lionfish not only support

1063
00:49:12,466 --> 00:49:15,633
the ecosystem,
but the local economies, too.

1064
00:49:15,633 --> 00:49:16,966
VALEK:
It is so fresh.

1065
00:49:16,966 --> 00:49:19,200
I don't think it gets fresher
than what we...

1066
00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:23,133
FOGG:
Nature tends to find a way
of figuring things out.

1067
00:49:23,133 --> 00:49:24,900
While lionfish may
be here to stay,

1068
00:49:24,900 --> 00:49:26,666
they're going to find their
place in the ecosystem.

1069
00:49:26,666 --> 00:49:30,300
The ecosystem could not
support 200 or 300 lionfish

1070
00:49:30,300 --> 00:49:32,266
on a single reef site,
but it certainly can

1071
00:49:32,266 --> 00:49:34,366
support maybe ten or 20.

1072
00:49:34,366 --> 00:49:36,666
WASHINGTON:
There's no debating
that lionfish have

1073
00:49:36,666 --> 00:49:39,400
disrupted the current
balance of biodiversity

1074
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:41,366
along the Atlantic coast.

1075
00:49:41,366 --> 00:49:43,933
Is it being destructive
to ecosystems

1076
00:49:43,933 --> 00:49:45,933
because it's a villain?

1077
00:49:45,933 --> 00:49:49,866
No, the lionfish
is just being... a fish.

1078
00:49:49,866 --> 00:49:51,000
MAZZOTTI:
A lot of people

1079
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:54,300
want to say or, or ask the
question,

1080
00:49:54,300 --> 00:49:56,366
"Well," you know, "aren't these
things going to,

1081
00:49:56,366 --> 00:49:58,333
to balance themselves out?"

1082
00:49:58,333 --> 00:50:01,500
Probably, but at what cost?

1083
00:50:01,500 --> 00:50:04,700
We could be losing
a native species that

1084
00:50:04,700 --> 00:50:07,733
have very important roles
in the environment

1085
00:50:07,733 --> 00:50:12,066
that are not replaced by
a non-native species.

1086
00:50:12,066 --> 00:50:14,400
SANTANA:
Biodiversity can be valuable

1087
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:17,733
because of its aesthetic
value, or by the appreciation

1088
00:50:17,733 --> 00:50:19,366
that we have over this,

1089
00:50:19,366 --> 00:50:20,866
all these life forms
that have evolved

1090
00:50:20,866 --> 00:50:23,700
over millions
and millions of years.

1091
00:50:23,700 --> 00:50:26,200
If we value that,
then I think we have

1092
00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:28,500
still the responsibility
to do something

1093
00:50:28,500 --> 00:50:30,533
about this
invasive species.

1094
00:50:30,533 --> 00:50:32,833
TORNABENE:
It's crazy to think that
one species can have

1095
00:50:32,833 --> 00:50:35,666
such a huge impact in
such a short period of time,

1096
00:50:35,666 --> 00:50:37,466
but then there are parallels.

1097
00:50:37,466 --> 00:50:39,633
It's not unprecedented,
what we're seeing,

1098
00:50:39,633 --> 00:50:41,533
but it's certainly alarming.

1099
00:50:42,866 --> 00:50:45,633
MAZZOTTI:
You know, "The biggest invasive
species are humans."

1100
00:50:45,633 --> 00:50:48,366
Ooh-- maybe we are.

1101
00:50:48,366 --> 00:50:52,133
Pretty much everywhere
where humans are now,

1102
00:50:52,133 --> 00:50:53,633
they're not native to.

1103
00:50:53,633 --> 00:50:54,900
It spreads.

1104
00:50:54,900 --> 00:50:57,300
Well, we sure spread.

1105
00:50:57,300 --> 00:50:59,133
Has negative impacts...

1106
00:50:59,133 --> 00:51:00,466
I don't know.

1107
00:51:00,466 --> 00:51:02,933
Should human beings
consider themselves above

1108
00:51:02,933 --> 00:51:06,333
these other species,
or are we part of the ecosystem

1109
00:51:06,333 --> 00:51:09,300
and realize that yes,
we have our impacts,

1110
00:51:09,300 --> 00:51:11,500
but we like each other,
and so the rules

1111
00:51:11,500 --> 00:51:13,133
are different for us?

1112
00:51:13,133 --> 00:51:15,966
WASHINGTON:
Humans have moved
so many species

1113
00:51:15,966 --> 00:51:18,766
all over the world
for millennia,

1114
00:51:18,766 --> 00:51:22,066
like the cherished
non-native honeybee.

1115
00:51:22,066 --> 00:51:25,366
We now rely on it.

1116
00:51:25,366 --> 00:51:27,700
So 500 years from now,

1117
00:51:27,700 --> 00:51:31,300
will people embrace
the lionfish as critical

1118
00:51:31,300 --> 00:51:35,700
to the Atlantic and
Mediterranean ecosystems?

1119
00:51:35,700 --> 00:51:40,233
Will it become a beloved fish
for its beauty and taste?

1120
00:51:40,233 --> 00:51:44,100
The lines that divide
invasive, non-native,

1121
00:51:44,100 --> 00:51:46,566
and native can be blurred.

1122
00:51:46,566 --> 00:51:48,400
And for better or worse,

1123
00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:52,733
invasions are now part
of the global ecosystem.

1124
00:51:52,733 --> 00:51:56,233
But with each invasion
comes a new discovery

1125
00:51:56,233 --> 00:52:00,466
of how nature endures,
and adapts,

1126
00:52:00,466 --> 00:52:05,233
shining a light
into uncharted waters.

1127
00:52:05,233 --> 00:52:08,033
♪ ♪

1128
00:52:33,166 --> 00:52:36,400
♪ ♪

1129
00:52:56,833 --> 00:53:00,300
ANNOUNCER:
This program is available
with PBS Passport

1130
00:53:00,300 --> 00:53:02,700
and on Amazon Prime Video.

1131
00:53:02,700 --> 00:53:06,700
♪ ♪

1132
00:53:17,233 --> 00:53:22,833
♪ ♪