fp Turks and Caicos

In their ongoing campaign to battle the local lionfish invasion, the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources is cooking up a new idea to get the community involved in the fight.

Following the success of the Lionfish Derby in July, which saw more than 200 Lionfish caught in four islands, the DECR has launched its Lionfish Cook Book initiative, which invites members of the public to share their lionfish recipes in a local cook book.

“We wanted to keep the momentum going with our public awareness campaign,” said DECR Director Wesley Clerveaux. “At our Lionfish Derby, we cooked some of the caught fish on location and noticed that many people were surprised at how delicious the fish tastes. Our aim with this cook book is to get more and more persons consuming the fish, and also generate revenue for local fishermen who choose to catch the fish.”

Deputy Director Jewel Batchasingh said the DECR is “inviting all cooking enthusiasts, professionals and restaurants to use their creativity and put together a delicious recipe using the lionfish as the main ingredient. High quality photographs are also necessary along with recipe submissions.

Cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 will be given to the top three individuals with the most creative recipes. The top three winners will also be invited to prepare their recipes at the upcoming Conch Festival in November.

“DECR would also like to thank Dive Provo for making this initiative possible by sponsoring the cook book,” Batchasingh said. “Dive Provo has been instrumental in assisting the DECR with our lionfish public awareness campaign, and we would also like to congratulate them on their 20th anniversary.”

The DECR is asking all members or the community to e-mail their recipes with photos to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .