October 18th, 2016 — For those who don’t live near the Alabama Gulf Coast, you might not be aware that Gov. Robert Bentley declared a Lionfish Awareness Day recently.
The reason for the public declaration was to coincide with the Lions on the Line event that was held at the Flora-Bama Marina and Flora-Bama Ole River Bar & Grill, which sit astride the Florida-Alabama line, hence Lions on the Line.
The Alabama Marine Resources Division (MRD), Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission and the NUISANCE Group teamed up to hold the event that encouraged the diving community to take as many lionfish as possible from the reefs off the Alabama coast and bring them in to be prepared for the public by well-known chefs from the Gulf Coast.
For those not familiar with the lionfish, it is an invasive species that likely was dumped out of an aquarium into waters in south Florida. The species, which is native to the Indo-Pacific region, has spread like wildfire in the favorable conditions of the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic areas.