Cayman’s second lionfish tournament
was held over the weekend, culminating in a feast of lionfish tacos.
More than 70 cullers signed up for
the latest Lionfish Round Up and caught 187 of the invasive, venomous fish.
Jason Washington of Ambassador
Divers, one of the organisers of the event, said the lionfish that was caught
by divers and snorkelers were, in general, bigger than those captured at the
first event, which was held in September.
“It seemed like the overall size of
the catch was significantly larger than the last cull. In the last cull, we
went to specific spots where we knew the lionfish were and we killed a lot of
them. We didn’t see as many of the small fish during this cull,” he said.
Organisers were also heartened that
the Department of Environment certified about 70 divers to catch and kill
lionfish in the week prior to the tournament.
“The DoE sold out two of its
culling classes in the week before the roundup,” said Mr. Washington.
He added that the efforts by divers
to clear lionfish from certain dive sites seem to be working. “At a wreck off
North Sound Estates, more than 100 lionfish were caught on the last cull. In
this cull, we couldn’t find a single one at that wreck,” he said.
The catches were weighed in at
Sunshine Suites, where chefs and staff specially trained to handle the fish by
the Department of Environment, cooked up lionfish tacos for the cullers at the
hotel’s restaurant, Sunshine Grill.
Mike Dill, manager at Sunshine
Grill, said enough large lionfish were caught to make about 50 tacos. “You need
big fish, otherwise by the time you trim off all the spines and fins, there
isn’t a lot left,” he said.
John Ferguson and Katie O’Neill
made the heaviest total catch of 16.8 pounds, while the Manila Killers snared
47 fish and won the title for the most fish caught.
There were joint winners in the
biggest fish by length with Team Canada and Group3 both catching lionfish
measuring 9.5 inches.
Photographer Cathy Church caught
the smallest lionfish, which measured 2.8 inches.
Mr. Washington said he hoped the
lionfish tournament could be held about six times a year and added that several
restaurants throughout Cayman have expressed interest in hosting the event and
cooking up the catch.
The first Lionfish Roundup was held
in September, when more than 500 lionfish were caught. They were weighed and
measured at Mezza Restaurant and then served to diners.
James Gibb of the Department of
Environment said the turnout for the latest tournament was smaller than the first
one because it was held during the school midterm break and many cullers who
had attended the last event were off island.
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