The tournament designed to tackle the threat that lionfish pose to Bermuda’s native fish species is to take place this Saturday.

The sixth annual Groundswell Lionfish Tournament is due to be held from 2.30pm to 7.30pm, with the weigh-in at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences in Ferry Reach.

Divers are invited to take part in an event that aims to raise awareness of the threat posed by the invasive species and to help strip some of them from the island’s reefs.

Selange Gitschner of Groundswell said: “Invasive species represent one of the largest threats to global biodiversity (only second to habitat destruction) so it is vitally important we do our best to control the numbers of these fish in Bermuda. Lionfish specifically are a threat because of their voracious appetite and scientists fear that important native fish and marine creatures, not recognising the lionfish as a predator, will be reduced in numbers which will in turn diminish their ability to maintain a healthy reef ecosystem.

“We are seeing this happen on reefs to our south so we expect the same to happen here if we do not act.

“Lionfish are here to stay and until we fully understand their impact, we need to study them and come up with practical solutions to manage their numbers before they become a problem.

“One of our solutions to this is the Groundswell “Eat ‘em to Beat ‘em” campaign where we are encouraging fishermen to target the lionfish over any other fish species and asking consumers to ask for lionfish from their favourite fishermen, grocer and restaurant in an effort to generate a market for these fish.

“The good news is they are safe and delicious to eat so we are optimistic we are on to a good thing.”

All participants in the competition must have a valid lionfish culling licence and pay the tournament entry fee of $25. Friends and family not hunting can attend the event for free.

Entertainment will include lionfish handling sessions, lionfish tasting, live music by the Simons Brothers, children’s arts and crafts, a bouncy castle and information kiosks.

Stratton Hatfield of Strativist has designed this year’s T-shirt and tournament flyers. All proceeds from the event will go towards lionfish research and culling efforts.

The weigh-in takes place at 3pm.

• To register visit: http://www.reefspect.com/tournament-info.html. Visit www.reefspect.com to find out when the lionfish culling courses take place.