You’re invited to REEF’s Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival! This year’s event is taking place on Sept. 9-12, 2021, and features two full days of lionfish hunting, followed by a family-friendly festival hosted at Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina in Islamorada. Click here for all the details.

The festival is open to the public and will include lionfish tastings, drink specials, demonstrations, games, interactive booths from environmentally-minded vendors, and live music from The Copper Tones, South Florida’s Soulgrass band. 

Teams of two to four people may register to compete in the derby. Click here to register online. Be sure to register soon to take advantage of the early bird rates: $75 per team before July 10, $85 per team before August 10, and $100 per team until Sept. 9.

A Captains’ Meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 6:30pm at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida. Light refreshments will be served and teams may choose to attend the meeting virtually or in person. More details will be emailed to registered teams. Derby participants may hunt lionfish from sunrise to sunset on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11. Lionfish drop off stations will also be available at designated hours throughout the weekend at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Postcard Inn Resort & Marina in Islamorada, and Mote Marine Laboratory in Summerland Key.

At this year’s event, we’ll award more than $6,000 in cash prizes! Prizes be awarded to the teams who harvest the most, largest, and smallest lionfish. The Most Lionfish category will include two divisions:
• Apex Predators (More competitive, higher prize money)
• Reef Defenders (More casual, lower prize money)

Don't have a boat? Local dive charters are available. Interested participants should contact dive shops directly to book dives.

Postcard Inn Resort & Marina is offering a special room rate for derby and festival attendees. Rooms must be booked by August 20 to secure the special rate by using this link or calling reservations at 844-471-5433. More details about the Postcard Inn Resort room package can be found here.

For more information, check out the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival Facebook event. You can also stay up to date on derby info and connect with other teams by joining the REEF Invasive Lionfish Facebook Group.

If you have any questions, please contact lionfish@REEF.org or call (305) 852-0030. We hope to see you at the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival!