See how many Fresh Catch Fireball Ahi poke bowls you can eat in three minutes, try your luck at winning a 30-foot boat or other prizes, and take in anything and everything to do with Hawaiian waters at the Hawaii Ocean Expo. The event takes place at Blaisdell Exhibition Hall this weekend.

The Fresh Catch Poke Bowl Eating Challenge invites people with appetites to enter the free competition. Entries will be accepted at the Fresh Catch restaurants’ food truck each day of the expo beginning at 11 a.m. Ten names will be drawn randomly for the contests, and contestants will be required to sign a waiver.

Entrants will have three minutes to eat as many of the extra-spicy ahi poke rice bowls as they can, each weighing about a half-pound. Should there be a tie, contestants will play jan-ken-po to determine the winner of a mystery prize.

Since not everyone can participate in the eating contest, additional food options will be plentiful.

Seafood Food Court vendors include Fresh Catch (with poke bowls, baked salmon, ahi katsu, pastele stew and smoked meat); Ahi Assassins (smoked ahi dip and smoked marlin dip); Aloha Plate (garlic shrimp, additional entrees); Guadalajara Tacos (fish tacos, ceviche and more Mexican dishes), and The Hub (grilled steak and shrimp, deep-fried mochi, red velvet mochiko chicken, and grilled smoked pork belly).

The event is organized by Russ Inouye, who explains that from the days of his youth, well before he established lifestyle brand and nightclub promotion company Vertical Junkies, he was an avid surfer, fishing enthusiast and ocean user.

For a time Inouye and chef Mark Noguchi ran He‘eia Kea Pier General Store and Deli, where seafood was a focus.

He was shocked to learn that there were no annual ocean-tied events of the nature he had in mind.

“I wanted to create an event that was all ocean-related, and have these guys be able to sign up for a beach cleanup, or learn about the green sea turtle, and Hawaiian monk seals, because, the nonprofit guys, they don’t make money but they teach us a lot,” Inouye said. He envisioned an event that would give the ocean-connected nonprofits a platform when ocean-lovers came around.

His inaugural event was nine years ago. Now the Hawaii Ocean Expo annually offers a zone devoted to environmental education, dubbed Ocean University-Education of the Seas.

On the commercial side, there will be dozens of exhibitors, with items of interest for those who surf, stand-up paddle, boat, kayak, dive or fish.

There will also be entertainment and a Keiki Zone for “prize fishing” throughout the two-day event.