STUNG by a LIONFISH!

- Oh, wow. I can't believe you're about to do this. - I'm Coyote Peterson, and I'm about to enter the spike zone, with the

lionfish

. One two. Here we go. Three. Oh! Ah! Oh wow, it's getting worse, guys. Yuck. - Okay, we'll take you home. (dramatic music) (soft music) - Mmm. It's almost time to go out to sea, how do you feel? - Well, you'd think I'd be excited, and I guess I am, but I'm also out there seeking my destiny, which is ultimately to be

stung

by a

lionfish

. That's our ship. - Alright! - Be careful with your steps when you go down here.

Aquatic life? Alright, here we have plenty of space on board to install all our equipment. - Today we are not going to dive, actually we are going to freedive. - Yes, we are going to snorkel to catch these lionfish, we will be in shallower waters. Now they're located deeper and shallower, I mean from what I hear they're all over the place, so we've got about six hours in the water and hopefully in that time we'll come back with a lionfish. - Alright. - Today we are heading to the coast of Islamorada. We will search for one of these invasive fish with the ultimate goal of showing you how to treat the effects of their painful sting, which is commonly experienced by both anglers and divers.

Native to the Indo-Pacific, these fish were first reported off the Atlantic coast of Florida in 1985 and quickly began to spread up the East Coast. With no natural predators other than humans, lionfish have become invasive enemy number one. No one knows for sure how these fish were introduced to the area, but their numbers have increased rapidly over the past 30 years. So finding one shouldn't be that difficult. (dramatic music) Alright guys, we've arrived at our first dive site. We are right next to the Florida Keys. We have the coast in the background and we are not too far away.

In fact, we can see the ocean floor right from the back of the boat, which is perfect for snorkeling. I'm trading in my adventure cowboy hat for a mask, snorkel, and wetsuit. We will go there and try to catch the famous lionfish. This is one of the most invasive species here in these waters, and our captain tells us there's a 100% chance we'll catch one, which means to you guys I'm definitely going to get bitten. - Oh boy! - Here we go! Very good Mario! - OK dude. See you later. (dramatic music) - Located right next to a shallow reef, we begin to explore the craggy rocks.

The slow-moving lionfish is very distinctive with its feathery-looking fins and calm nature. As long as we see one, catching it shouldn't be a problem. In total we searched for about 30 minutes. It didn't take long because we soon had a lionfish in our sights. (dramatic music) Well, we have one. - He came out again, I see it. - Yes. - He went out through the coral again. - It's just floating there. - Okay, let's try to get it. (dramatic music) - This was my moment, time to capture the invader. I held my breath and kicked hard. Approaching the fish, I cast it forward and, after a bit of finesse with the net, managed to capture it.

I did it! I caught a lionfish. - Wow! Court! - Making sure to keep the thorns away from me and the crew, I swam towards the surface. - We have it! - That beauty! - Wow, we were doing well. Did you see that? - Yeah. - Oh man, do you understand that? - That was amazing. - Wow, okay, then get away, get away from me a little bit. Let's get back to the boat, we already have our fish! - Let's do it! Wow! (dramatic music) - There it is, ladies and gentlemen, the lionfish. - There is. - Give me that here, I... - Can you mention that?

Woo, look at that fish. Beauty too, gorgeous, wow! - There you go. Look at those thorns. - I would say that the stage is set for the lionfish to bite me. Well, let's put it in this bucket and get back to shore. (laughs) In case you were wondering, this invasive fish will not be released back into the wild, but rather will be donated to a research group in South Florida. - Well. - I see a tank, we need a fish. - Here comes the fish. Now I will pick it up with this spoon and throw it into the aquarium, are you ready? - Yes. - Here it comes, one, two, three, wooup!

There you go, friend! - Wow. You can see why people keep them in their aquariums. - Oh, they are absolutely gorgeous. I mean, you can see why it's called lionfish. With those pectoral fins extended it almost looks like a lion's mane. They are now also known as red zebrafish. As you can see, those red stripes make it look like a red zebra. There are many different names for this fish, but one thing and one thing only we know is that they are an invasive species here in South Florida, and they can give you a pretty nasty puncture from those spines.

Now let's look at some of the anatomy of this fish. Wow. First of all, those dorsal spines that you see along the top ridge of the fish, all 13 of them are full of venom. The poison in these spines is actually in grooves that run along the side of the spines, and you can see those fleshy things hanging off the sides, right? - Yes, what is that? - Check it out? These are actually pods that have spines in them, so when the fish shakes, those spines go through the fleshy pods and then the venom is exposed. So anything that sticks there, the poison enters your system. - So those pods also help put poison into the thorns, right? - They do it, they kind of lubricate it with poison and then when a column enters your hand, well, that's how the poison enters your body.

Now, there are a couple of different methods that you could use to be... - Yes. - Spined here. - How are you going to do this? This seems really precarious to me. - Well, the most dangerous thing, and what would be really unintelligent, would be to put your hands in like that and try to grab the fish from one side. The ventral spines are shorter and thicker, and will actually put more venom into me than I would like to put into my body today. The dorsal spines also inflict a lot of venom, but I want to replicate what often happens to divers when they encounter these fish, which are being spineed by the dorsal crest.

So, I'm going to lift the fish by the jaw, it's not going to hurt it in any way. That dorsal ridge of spines will open like that because it will feel threatened, it's out of the water, and I'm going to hit the top of the spines with my hand and the poison will enter my skin. - Well, you've been through some stings and some bites. How do you feel about this particular experiment, so to speak? - Well, this will be my first marine sting. Technically it's not a sting, it's a stab, stab or puncture. I'm a little nervous because I don't know how my body will react to the poison of marine life.

As always, we have an epinephrine pen with us. We're also back here in civilization, so if something goes extremely wrong, if my body were to go into anaphylactic shock, we have local medical experts on call ready to meet me if something bad happens. - And are you ready to continue with this? - No, I'm sweating. I'm nervous, my heart is racing. You can see that the fish is completely calm at this time, resting on the bottom of the. - Oh! Oh! - Oh. - That's how it's understood. - That scared me. - There's water all over your... - He shook his tail at me. (laughs) Yeah, that'll make you jump.

I thought I was going to get it out of the ventral spines. There are three large spines on the back that will move your tail and trap you. It didn't take me there, which is good, but I think we're getting closer. Well, we are literally a couple of minutes away from being bitten by the lionfish. You know I get nervous right before doing these things. Those are some big thorns. I've never been taken aback by a sea creature before. I have no idea how my body will react to this poison, which makes me even more nervous. - It's time. - Go Pro is officially underway.

Okay, now I'm going to lift the fish by the front of its jaw and then drop my hand on the barbs. Now, I may have a hard time getting him out of there. If that happens, I'll continue with the scene, okay? Depending on how bad it is. - Well. - Okay, I don't know what's going to happen. In fact, I'm going to use the wooden spoon to turn it over. I want to hold it with my left hand. In fact, I'm going to position it... Look at that. Look how he turns the thorns into the spoon, can you see that? - Yes, he is instinctively positioning the spines... - It sure is. - Attack its predator. - Okay, I'll try to catch it by the mouth.

Ready? - Yes. Oh, be careful. Careful. - Okay, I got it. - Do you have a mouth? - I have it in my mouth. Here we go. There is. - Oh my God, we're here right now. - Look at that display of those thorns. Wow. Well. Now I'm going to drop my hand on them. Do you have a good opportunity? - Yes, can you place the fish a little more (murmurs)? - Yes, let me hold it like this so you can see it. - Oh, wow. I can't believe you're about to do this. Ah, friend. - I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to enter the spike zone with the lionfish.

One two. Here we go. Three. Oh! Ah! Oh! Oh! - Are you OK? I catch you? - Oh yeah. - How do you feel now? It feels? - Oh! - Hurts? - Oh, pricks! Oh! Yeah. - Oh, man. - It's actually not that bad. But you have to keep in mind that it is a neurotoxin. This will take a couple of minutes to appear. It's not instantaneous like a wasp, a tarantula hawk, or even the bullet ant. Here two of the thorns went in, there, there, and I think his body turned a little. I got like four spins.

Oh! - It's hot? - No, the fingers are getting a little stiff. Oh. Hmm. Hmm. Yes, I'm feeling something now. (nervous laughter) Ugh! Hmm. Oh! Wait a second. Oh. Oh. - The fish is good! - The fish looks good. "That's what you get," he says, "for picking me up!" Oh. Oh, wow. Yeah, oh wow. Oh, it comes like a wave. Oh, do you know what that's indicative of? - Gila Monster. - Gila Monster. - Yeah. - Oh man. Oh man. Okay, I'll take this off my wrist. - I feel any swelling or... - Yes, I can feel my arm tightening.

And this is actually cutting off circulation. And what you don't want to do is cut off circulation. Oh my god. Oh man. Dude. Feel my forearm, friend. That's like instant. Press down here. Down there, - Oh, yeah. God, your arm is everything... - Wow, man, yeah. Ah, it's burning well now. Oh! I felt the spikes enter. Ugh! I thought to myself, "Hey, that's like a prick!" A big pin, but a prick nonetheless. I got up and said, "It's not that bad." - How long will this last? - Oh. It will last until you put your hand in some hot water.

Not boiling, I want it as hot as I can stand, because that heat will actually break down the proteins in the venom and it should dissipate, but wow. Okay, it's getting worse, guys. It's getting worse and I'm getting dizzy. -Hey, Mark, should we take him to get hot water? - Yeah, I think we should probably end this. - Well well. No no no no no. I have to get an introduction. Well. Well, as we can see, the bite of a lionfish is extremely painful. If you are

stung

, seek medical attention as soon as possible. You never know how your body will react to the poison in a situation like this.

It is an invasive species. It is a very easy fish to find here in the southern part of Florida and along the entire east coast of the United States. I'm Coyote Peterson. No, wait, wait. If you see a lionfish in the wild, admire it from a safe distance. It's the most important thing you can do. Do not try to catch these fish. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave. Stay wild. See you on the next adventure. Okay, I'm getting dizzy. - Friend, sit down for a minute, sit down. - Yuck. - Okay, we'll take you home. - Oh man, dude, I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy.

Okay, maybe it's a little worse than I thought. - Do you remember where you got the keys from? - Being attacked by a lionfish was bad enough. Be sure to stick around and watch the later episode where I do my best to show you how to treat a lionfish sting. And don't forget, subscribe! So you can join me and the crew on our next water adventure!