Lionfish was on the menu this weekend as the ‘Lionfish Mafia’ hosted their first Spring lionfish tournament.

A total of 25 people signed up to take part in the competition, resulting in 30lbs of the invasive species being pulled from Bermuda’s waters.

At the official weigh-in on Saturday, Mark Outerbridge and Herbie Adderly took the prize for the most lionfish caught — with Mr Outerbridge also claiming the prize for the smallest lionfish caught.

Meanwhile, Robert Thomas took home the gold for the largest lionfish for a specimen measuring 32.5cm.

In total, more than $1,300 in prizes and cash awards were given to the tournament winners.

Sylvan Richards, Minister of the Environment, praised the organisers, saying: “It is great to see this level of grass roots engagement.

“The group calling themselves the ‘Lionfish Mafia’ are to be commended for their efforts and initiative. Invasive lionfish are an ongoing issue for Bermuda’s marine environment, and we all need to work together to remove them wherever and whenever they may be found.”

A Ministry spokeswoman added that it was happy to see a new Spring tournament added to the growing number of lionfish culling events, saying: “This means that there are now major events covering all four seasons.

“It is hoped these events will motivate and reward our volunteer lionfish cullers, who participate in addition to their ongoing culling activities. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources recognises that consistent removal of lionfish is key to keeping them under control and minimising their negative impacts on our marine life.”

Almost all of the fish caught for the tournament were donated to the organisers, who represented the Lionfish Taskforce on Sunday at the Marine Expo in St George’s. The fish were used to give demonstrations on how to safely handle and fillet them, and samples were cooked up on a grill provided by Bermuda Gas.