2015 A Fishy Affair - Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

The inaugural 'A Fishy Affair: Malicious...but Delicious' was a huge success!

A Fishy Affair: Malicious...but Delicious!

The Savannah community experienced ‘A Fishy Affair: Malicious…but Delicious’ on Thursday evening, September 24th to benefit Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The sold out event educated and entertained the audience by serving 415 pounds of Lionfish cooked up by four of Savannah’s prominent chefs, showing an award-winning short film, and previewing the Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival, January 29-30. The evening also included a complimentary signature cocktail, live Lionfish, live music, full dinner, and a live auction.

Images of the event are available to the right or from WJCL and Savannah Morning News. Media before the event included WSAV's Lionfish feature, WSAV's Southern Scene (follow up coming), WTOC's Mid-Morning Live,Connect Savannah, Do Savannah, The Landings Association, and several outlets not available online.
230 attendees included elected officials, community leaders, students, business executives, congressional staffers, and philanthropists.
The response was overwhelmingly positive with specific feedback from guests enjoying the educational component of the evening, the high levels of entertainment, the nice decor, and the overall exciting energy.

We will plan to host A Fishy Affair yearly so keep up to date when those dates are announced by signing up for our newsletter or make a donation. Thank you for the tremendous enthusiasm!!

Thank you to our incredible chefs that prepared such brilliant Lionfish dishes!!

Chef Roberto Leoci of Leoci’s Trattoria and Pacci Italian Kitchen + Bar

Lionfish Spring Rolls Sea Urchin Fra Diavolo Sauce

Chef Drue Longo of 39 Rue De Jean

Lionfish with Lobster Mousseline

Senior Executive Chef Matthew J. Roher of The Landings Club

Lion Fish Stew

Sushi Chef Jin Kang of The Landings Club

Lionfish Nigri and Tempura Maki

The Lionfish is 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. Lionfish damage our ocean by eating up to 20 small fish per day. With a very quick reproduction rate and no natural predators in Atlantic waters, they have multiplied quickly and threaten the natural biodiversity that provide economic and recreational opportunities. While completely removing lionfish from Atlantic and Caribbean waters is unlikely, reducing their numbers is critical to our ocean and for Gray's Reef.

Read the full press release here.

Thank you to our generous sponsors! A Fishy Affair is sponsored by:

Cathy J. Sakas Sarah Fangman & Greg McFall Mrs. Robert O. Levitt

VJL Seafood Randy Thompson Photography