Tickets are now on sale for the fourth annual Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s (the Foundation) lionfish dinner: A Fishy Affair: Malicious...but Delicious . Launched to a sold-out crowd in 2015, this unique dining event will take place at The Landings Club in the Plantation Ballroom on Friday, September 21 at 6:00 PM. The event is open to the public and the cost is $100 per ticket or $1000 for a table of 10.

Four of Savannah’s most respected chefs will cook up their best lionfish dishes in an effort to encourage restaurants to put lionfish on their menus because they are invasive – but tasty – creatures. Featured participating chefs include: Executive Chef Tony Seichrist, the Wyld Dock Bar; Executive Chef Shahin Afsharian-Campuzaon, 700 Kitchen Cooking School the Mansion on Forsyth Park; and Executive Chef Sam Brod and Sushi Chef Jin Kang, both of The Landings Club.

A Fishy Affair: Malicious...but Delicious will once again feature the popular lionfish tasting of small bites prepared by participating chefs, as well as a buffet, a short film screening, live and silent auctions, a free signature cocktail and a cash bar. Tickets are  available  at graysreefnmsf.org/events/AFishyAffair. A portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible as a donation to the Foundation.

“Lionfish are threatening our ocean and our beloved Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary,” said Cathy Sakas, Foundation  Chairperson. “We hope everyone in the coastal region will support Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and join us at A Fishy Affair in September. It will be both an educational and entertaining evening; we will raise awareness about lionfish, Gray’s Reef, and the  Foundation.”

Lionfish are  native to the tropical waters of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are popular in home aquariums, but are now invading ecosystems throughout the Atlantic coast and Caribbean.. With a very quick reproductive rate and no natural predators in Atlantic waters, populations multiply  quickly and threaten the natural biodiversity that provide economic and recreational opportunities. Voracious predators, lionfish damage ecosystems by consuming native fish in large quantities.  While completely removing lionfish from Atlantic and Caribbean waters is unlikely, reducing their numbers is critical to our ocean and for Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary.