KEY LARGO, FLA. – Last weekend, 13 teams of scuba divers took to the water and collected 1,618 invasive lionfish during the 2025 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival, hosted by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). Teams fished from sunrise to sunset on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. The derby weekend concluded on Sunday, April 27 at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, with a festival featuring lionfish scoring, cooking and dissection demos, plus numerous educational activities, games, and vendor booths celebrating the intersection of art, science, and marine conservation.

More than $6,000 in cash and prizes were awarded to teams who brought in the most, largest, and smallest lionfish. The “Most Lionfish” category included the competitive Apex Predators division and the Reef Defenders division for casual lionfish hunters. The Stooges led the Apex Predators with 379 lionfish. Forever Old finished second with 375 lionfish, and Volitans placed third with 349 lionfish. Fourth, fifth and sixth places went to Younger Than Them with 274 lionfish, Team Trash with 138 lionfish, and The Hunters with 66 lionfish. In the Reef Defenders division, MEEROW AQUAneers won first place with 21 lionfish. Tequila Little Time brought in 10 lionfish for second place, Spear It 1 won third place with 3 lionfish, and Spear It 2 placed fourth, also with 3 lionfish.

Competition was close in the largest and smallest lionfish categories. Forever Old won first place in the “Largest Lionfish” category with a 416 mm fish, just over 16 inches. Younger Than Them won second place with a 414 mm fish, and Volitans won third place with a 409 mm fish. Team Trash had the smallest fish of the derby, which measured 83 mm. The Stooges won second place with a 91mm fish, and Younger Than Them brought in a 96 mm fish for third place. Tequila Little Time also caught a 104 mm live lionfish, to be displayed in an educational exhibit at the REEF Campus. Full results from this event and other past derbies are posted online at https://www.REEF.org/past-derby-results.

Lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific, are an invasive species in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, negatively affecting native species and habitats. Removal events like derbies have been found to significantly reduce lionfish populations at the local scale and engage communities to continue supporting control and management efforts.

“The Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival is an example of the incredible impact of community-driven conservation. Every lionfish removed and every person who participates - whether underwater or at the festival - is helping to protect marine ecosystems,” said Alli Candelmo, Ph.D., REEF Director of Conservation Science.

The 2025 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival was made possible thanks to Ocean Reef Conservation Association and Florida Keys Brewing Company. Activities occurred within NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary under permit.

REEF will host the 17th annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival on April 23-26, 2026. Lionfish hunting will take place April 24-25, and the festival will be on Sunday, April 26. For more information about REEF Lionfish Derbies, visit www.REEF.org/lionfish-derbies.

About REEF
Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) conserves marine environments worldwide. Our mission is to protect biodiversity and ocean life by actively engaging and inspiring the public through citizen science, education, and partnerships with the scientific community. For more information, visit www.REEF.org.

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