People are being encouraged to catch a fearsome predator and 'eat 'um to beat 'um' at the Island's first Lionfish Tournament next week.

Anyone with a cull permit can take part, and chefs will provide a chance to taste the stripy species at a cook-off afterwards.

The Lionfish Tournament takes place at the Pier 41 Marina at Dockyard on Sunday, August 23.

Organised by Groundswell, the emphasis is on protecting the environment and eradicating the fish before it destroys the delicate balance of our marine ecosystem.

From dawn until 3 p.m. people can spear, hook or net lionfish, with no limits on size or numbers. Organisers Matt Strong and Selange Gitschner only ask that you "get them however you can, legally and safely".

Lionfish are a growing menace in Bermuda. The invasive species has already decimated fish populations across the Caribbean.

Indigenous to the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea, they are expanding rapidly in the Atlantic. In the Bahamas they first appeared in 2002 but are now the most dominant fish in the waters of Nassau.

In a bid to keep them at bay, the Bahamas Government is now encouraging people to catch them for food.

Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) marine collections officer Chris Flook is now hoping using the fish as a dish could also catch on here.

Mr. Flook launched the Lionfish Culling Programme last year to encourage divers and fishermen to hunt them down.

Members of the public can attend one of his education and training seminars, and then apply to the Ministry of the Environment for a licence to cull them.

The Government permit allow divers to kill lionfish on scuba within a mile. Spears less than five feet in length and with a paralyser tip are recommended.

Experts say the best way to handle the fish is by grabbing its face, avoiding the venomous spines on its dorsal, anal and pelvic fins. The fish can then be dumped in a bucket of eugenol as a means of euthanasia.

Lionfish can deliver a painful sting through their venomous spines but placing the limb in very hot water denatures the protein in the venom.

Those taking part in next week's tournament do so at their own risk and should be educated first in how to handle lionfish.

Over the next week Groundswell is running two information sessions and lionfish permit courses. They take place at BAMZ on Saturday at 11 a.m. and on Tuesday at 7 p.m..

Entry fees are $15 per individual and $35 per boat, with a weigh-in and prizes from 3 p.m.

Between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. people can enjoy the fruits of their labour at a lionfish preparation and tasting session. Drinks will also be available and Harrington Sound will provide the tunes.

To sign up for the Lionfish Tournament, visit Fantasea at Albouys Point, Hamilton, telephone 704-7413, or e-mail: matt@fantaseabermuda.com.

Alternatively visit the website: www.reefspect.com or check out the tournament's Facebook page.