2017 Lionfish derbies & tournaments
Date | Location | Name | Contact |
---|---|---|---|
2/11 | Key Largo | REEF Winter Lionfish Derby | Emily Stokes Emily@REEF.org |
4/20-5/20 | Jacksonville | Northeast Florida Lionfish Blast (LRAD) |
Donny Trauthwein lionfishblaster@gmail.com |
4/22 | Miami | 4earth Lionfish Derby |
Analisa Duran, Miami Seaquarium education@msq.cc |
5/20-21 | Pensacola | Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Tournament |
Andy Ross, Gulf Coast Lionfish Coalition sharkman58@gmail.com |
5/20-21 | Sebastian | Sebastian Lionfish Fest (LRAD) | Kendra Cope kcope@ircgov.com |
5/20-21 | Destin | Destin Lionfish Tournament (LRAD) | Robert Provost support@discoverydiveworld.com |
5/20-21 | Panama City Beach | Lion Tamer Tournament (LRAD) | Stacie Galbreath stacie@diversdenpcb.com |
5/20 | St. Petersburg | Florida Skin Divers Association Lionfish Calcutta (LRAD) | Teresa Hattaway jimsdiveshop@earthlink.net |
5/20 | Key Largo | REEF Lionfish Derby (LRAD) | Emily Stokes Emily@REEF.org |
6/2-3 | Jupiter | 7th Annual Lionfish Round-Up | info@mclionfish.com |
6/3 | Mexico Beach | Mexico Beach Gollywhopper | Zach Childs zachchilds@gmail.com |
6/10-11 | Gulf Breeze | Gulf Breeze Sertoma 27th Family Fishing Rodeo | Andy McKeown andymc@techwire.us |
6/24 | Miami | 7th Annual Lionfish Bash |
Lucy Foerster lucy@woodyfoundation.org |
7/7-9 | Sarasota | REEF Sarasota Lionfish Derby |
Emily Stokes Emily@REEF.org |
7/14-15 | Fort Lauderdale | REEF Fort Lauderdale Lionfish Derby |
Emily Stokes Emily@REEF.org |
7/28-29 | Upper Keys | REEF Upper Keys Lionfish Derby |
Emily Stokes Emily@REEF.org |
8/11-13 | Palm Beach | REEF Palm Beach County Lionfish Derby |
Emily Stokes Emily@REEF.org |
9/7-10 | St. Petersburg | Guy Harvey Lionfish Safari |
Reef Monitoring sponsorship@reefmonitoring.org |
What is a lionfish derby?
A lionfish derby is a single day competition to collect and remove as many lionfish as possible. Teams of spearfishermen collect lionfish by spearing while SCUBA diving, or less commonly by free diving. Teams begin competing at sunrise and are required to bring their catch to the scoring station by a designated time. Each fish is measured, and prizes are awarded for teams catching the most, biggest, and smallest lionfish. The public is invited to watch scoring, taste free lionfish samples, watch filleting and dissection demonstrations, and ask questions about lionfish.
The evening before the derby participants attend a mandatory Captain's Meeting. This presentation includes lionfish biology, ecology, impacts, collecting and handling tools and techniques, and derby rules.
Why hold lionfish derbies and lionfish tournaments?
Good Question
Early on in the lionfish invasion the goals of the lionfish derby were to 1) Remove significant numbers of lionfish 2) Increase education and awareness 3) Train divers to hunt lionfish 4) Provide samples for research and 5) Create a commercial market
We've created the commercial market
In 2011 there were 2381 pounds of commercial lionfish sold in Florida. In 2012 it was 11,450 pounds, in 2013 12,946 pounds, in 2014 24,511 pounds and in 2015 it reached a whopping 72,446 pounds.
We have also done a great job of increasing awareness among divers. We feel that it's time to allow the market to take over since divers can now profitably sell their lionfish. (See this list for wholesalers looking to buy your lionfish in Florida)
2016 Lionfish Tournament and Derby Results
2016
Name | Location | Date | #Harvested | Largest | Smallest |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
See 'Em, Spear 'Em, Eat 'Em | Port Canaveral | 2/20 | |||
REEF Locals' Winter Lionfish Derby |
Key Largo |
3/12 |
132 |
392mm |
116mm |
Northeast Florida Lionfish Blast | Jacksonville | 4/15-5/15 | 3,478 | n/a | n/a |
2nd Annual Lionfish Derby | Destin | 5/7 | 1,930 | ||
Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Tournament | Pensacola | 5/13-15 | 8,089 | 445 mm | |
Sebastian Lionfish Fest | Sebastian | 5/17 | 31 | 384 mm | 123 mm |
41st Annual Fishing Rodeo | Gulf Breeze | 5/13-15 | 2,289 | 2.72 lbs | .019 lbs |
Lion Tamer Tournament | Panama City Beach and Mexico Beach | 5/14-15 | 728 | 2.8 lbs | .25 oz |
Florida Skin Divers Lionfish Calcutta | Belleair Bluffs | 5/14 | 655 | 415 mm | 103 mm |
2016 Lionfish Shootout | Naples | 5/27-29 | 71 | 410 mm | 120 mm |
6th Annual Lionfish Round-Up | Jupiter | 6/3-4 | 239 | 403 mm | 127 mm |
Florida Skin Divers Assoc. Southern Open | Clearwater | 6/3-5 | 211 | 394 mm | 130 mm |
Treasure Coast Lionfish Safari | Fort Pierce | 6/10 – 12 | 740 | 410 mm | 70 mm |
Lionfish Safari | Key West | 6/11 - 12 | 26 | ||
Guns & Hoses 15thAnnual Spearfishing Tournament | Pensacola | 6/11 - 12 | 370 | 2.12 lbs | 4.12 inches |
Sarasota |
7/9-10 |
429 | 385 mm | 112 mm | |
Fort Lauderdale |
7/16 |
1,250 | 427 mm | 98 mm | |
Marathon | 7/28-29 | ||||
Juno Beach | 8/13 | 337 | 424 mm | 24 mm | |
St. Pete | 8/19-21 | 343 | |||
St. Pete Beach | 9/10 | 1,554 | |||
Key Largo | 9/10 | 323 | 414 mm | 48 mm | |
Jacksonville | 9/10 | 216 | |||
Sarasota |
9/23-24 |
536 | |||
Key Largo |
10/15-16 |
31 | |||
Florida Spearfishing Tournament |
|
|
2,751 |
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Important Links
- Hunting Lionfish
- Lionfish facts
- Lionfish Facts & Information
- Lionfish FAQ's
- Lionfish on Wikipedia
- Lionfish Tracking Map
- Hunting Photos
- 2017 Lionfish derbies & tournaments
- Choosing a Lionfish Containment Unit
- Cleaning Lionfish
- Selecting Gear
- DAN Lionfish Safety
- CORE Foundation, USVI Lionfish control
- The lionfish sting
- Ending Non-native Destructive Species
- Places to spear lionfish in Caribbean