Lionfish food for thought

As a diver, enjoying your sport, collecting kai and managing to do your bit the ecosystem all at the same time is pretty much the ideal triple whammy. And that's exactly what Helmi Smeulders and Lisette Keus are doing on the Caribbean island of Curacao.

Helmi left her law career in the Netherlands in 1998 and relocated to Curacao, eventually becoming a chef, diver and conservationist. At the time, she knew nothing about sustainable fishing, the importance of protecting the reef for future generations or anything much about the lionfish that had been steadily destroying the local coral reefs. And then she met local diver Lisette.

Curacao is one of many countries facing an ecological challenge from invasive lionfish. Native to the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, they were introduced to the Atlantic in the 1980s, reaching the Caribbean coastline by the early 2000s.

While stunning in appearance, lionfish reproduce at an alarming rate - females release around two million eggs every year. They eat smaller native reef fish in large numbers - research has shown the presence of lionfish can reduce a native reef fish population by 79 percent, upsetting the balance and causing issues to diving tourism.

Known as something of a 'lionfish whisperer' for her ability to catch the fish, Lisette had been attempting to control the invasive species population for years and had been trying to sell her catch to restaurants since 2012 - with limited success. "Everyone was afraid of the fish and didn't know if they were safe to touch or eat," she explains. "I had my cooler full but found myself throwing fish back into the ocean because I couldn't sell it." 

So she approached it from a different angle. "I showed [chefs] how to clean them, gave [them] recipes and gave batches of the fish for free to restaurants to practise with," explains Lisette. "I explained that lionfish are an invasive species, so by cleaning it safely and serving it, they were actually helping protect the local Curacao ecosystem."



While it's not often seen on menus, lionfish is actually safe to eat once its venomous spines are removed, so Lisette taught Helmi - as well as other women on the island - how to find and capture them.

Having developed a reputation for creating dishes using only local ingredients, Helmi began cooking lionfish in 2013, when she cooked a large dinner reception for the King and Queen of the Netherlands during a visit to Curacao. She reached out to Lisette and other divers and asked them to catch as many lionfish as they could so she could showcase the delicate flavour of the white fish that tastes like a cross between cod and crayfish (lobster). It's also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

"I did what I do best: I served a plate of small bites with a modern Caribbean flair," she says. Her poached lionfish in hollandaise sauce with a hint of lemon was the hit of the dinner. 

Since then, Helmi has showcased lionfish in a multitude of ways. "Some of my favourite recipes to use lionfish are flavourful ceviches. I also like it as a tartare, tacos and I use the bones to make good stock. 

"We can also use the spine because it's protein. We heat the spine at 200 degrees C and it neutralises the venom. You can use the spine bones as little picks."

The lionfish business has grown for both women. In a bid to address the issue of waste - only about 20 percent of the lionfish was being used as food - Lisette began making jewellery from the fins, opening a retail store called Lionfish Caribbean in 2016 in Kura Hulanda Village that also provides education and training to divers. She also opened a tasting room for people to try the fish for themselves.

Helmi now shares her dives and lionfish hunting adventures with students, and uses the species to teach sustainability and environmental responsibility, encouraging people to consider the ethics of the fish they consume. And both women absolutely love their jobs. "If you wake up and realise it's a day you get to go lionfish hunting, then it's definitely going to be a good day," smiles Helmi.