Cayman United Lionfish League, known as CULL, will hold its 35th tournament this weekend, 1 and 2 Oct.
Divers using specially licensed trident spears will search the nooks and crannies of Cayman’s coral reefs to hunt the invasive species.
CULL president Jason Washington said in a press release, “In a world full of environmental ocean conditions that are plaguing our coral reefs – acidification of the water, global warming and rising temperatures – invasive species, such as lionfish, are something we can actually attempt to control.
“Why do we cull? To raise awareness about the importance of eating invasive species over local reef fish.”
After the culls each day on Saturday and Sunday, the hunters will bring their catch to the Tomfoodery Restaurant at Camana Bay, where the lionfish will be weighed and measured, and then cooked and offered up for the cullers and members of the public to taste.
The CULL group partners on the tournaments with the Department of Environment to ensure that marine conservation laws are followed and that cullers are authorised and licensed to spear the lionfish.
The group has been holding culling tournaments regularly in Cayman since 2010 in a bid to remove the invasive species from the reefs. Lionfish were first spotted in the Cayman Islands in 2008.
One female lionfish can produce more than 30,000 eggs every four days. They have voracious appetites and can consume large numbers of juvenile reef fish.
CULL, whose motto is “Eat ’em to beat ’em”, has been partnering with Foster’s and the Cayman Islands Tourism Association to offer prize money in categories for the largest lionfish, the smallest lionfish, the most number and greatest weight of lionfish culled each tournament.
Organisers said that while hosting these tournaments, free fresh lionfish samples are offered to the public so that they can “taste how delicious lionfish is”.
At the tournament, the DoE sets up educational kiosks about the invasive lionfish and are on hand to measure and record data about the lionfish removed from the reef.
Tournament rules
Each team must consist of a minimum of two and a maximum of six members, and must have at least one lionfish culler registered with the Department of Environment.
All lionfish must be de-spined before being presented for measuring and weigh-in. There will be no cleaning station at Tomfoodery.
The registration fee is $10 per member.
Registration will be held today, Thursday, 29 Oct., from 5-8pm, at Tomfoodery. For those who cannot attend the registration, call 916-4271.
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