Lionfish cullers will be back underwater to hunt the invasive species in a tournament on Saturday and Sunday, 9 and10 Nov.
Registration for the event, run by the Cayman United Lionfish League, or CULL, will be held from 5-8pm, on Thursday, 7 Nov. at the George Town Yacht Club.
Mark Orr, chief conservation officer with the Department of Environment, and a founding member of CULL, said in a press release, “CULL tournaments are your chance to help us protect Cayman’s reefs from invasive predators, while having a great day of diving or snorkelling and friendly competition.
“The lionfish are back and every one caught contributes to the preservation and survival of Cayman’s reefs. And they taste great! I would like to invite Cayman’s culling community to join us and support CULL #37”.
This latest tournament is being held in the memory of Thomas K. Shropshire, a staunch advocate for marine conservation in Cayman, who passed away in September.
CULL noted that Shropshire, known to many as ‘Shrop’, was one of Cayman’s earliest lionfish cullers, who “spent much time teaching others how to use the culling bags to capture the lionfish and remove them from the reef”.
Tournament organisers are offering cash prizes in four categories – most lionfish; overall weight; biggest lionfish; and smallest lionfish. The prizes in each category will be $500 for first place; $200 for second place; and $100 for third place.
Weigh-in will be from 4-6pm each day at the George Town Yacht Club.
There will be free samples of lionfish at the weigh-in, provided by the Yacht Club chefs, and happy hour drinks.
Free tournament T-shirts will be given to the first 100 registered team members.
Tournament rules:
- Teams to consist of a minimum of two persons, with a maximum of eight members
- Each team must have at least one Department of Environment-licensed culler
- All lionfish must be de-spined before brought to the measuring/weighing station
- All lionfish must be turned in by the designated closing time of 6pm on Sunday, 10 Nov. There will be a penalty of 1% per minute, deducted from all prize category totals, for fish submitted after this time.
- Registration fee of $10 per person, payable at the time of registration.
For more information, email [email protected] or call 325-7070.
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