Under sunny Florida skies, 27 teams of lionfish hunters took part in the Fourth Annual Key Largo Lionfish Derby on Saturday, September 14 at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Exceptional weather and growing awareness of the lionfish issue facilitated record catches of the invasive species.
Divers successfully removed 675 invasive lionfish from Florida Keys waters on August 20, during the upper Florida Keys derby of the Second Annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby Series in Key Largo, Fla., organized by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and the FL Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS).
On Sunday, February 8 2015, 20 skilled, enthusiastic lionfish hunters braved high winds and choppy seas to compete in REEF’s Third Annual Winter Lionfish Derby held at the Postcard Inn Beach Resort and Marina at Holiday Isle. Three teams participated in this year’s derby and brought in a total of 99 lionfish during this sunrise to 5:00 pm event. Islamorada Dive Center took 1st place in the derby, bringing in a total of 86 lionfish. Team SFAEP That Fish Cray finished in 2nd place with 11 lionfish and Key Largo Drifters placed 3rd with 2 lionfish.
For the sixth year in a row, avid lionfish hunters on Green Turtle Cay set out at the crack of dawn on June 28th to participate in the world’s longest running lionfish derby. Conditions on the water could not have been better as the teams removed invasive lionfish from the Sea of Abaco on June 28th. Vying for more than $7,000 in cash prizes, 17 participating teams brought in 908 lionfish to the Green Turtle Club during the sunrise until 4:30 pm event. Numbers of lionfish caught and the sizes of fish landed were both down from last year.
A good time was had by all who participated in the Third Annual Lionfish Derby at Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas on June 24th and 25th, 2011. The event was held at the Green Turtle Club, whose sponsorship, along with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Brendals Dive Center, REEF and numerous donors from Palm Beach County, Florida make this one of the most exciting competitions of the summer.
Approximately 100 divers collected 534 Indo-Pacific red lionfish during the first tournament dedicated to reducing the population of the invasive species in the Florida Keys waters.
The September 11 tournament in Key Largo, organized by REEF and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, is the first of three Keys-based lionfish roundups. The event attracted 27 teams which competed for cash and prizes to collect the most, largest and smallest lionfish.
At the break of dawn on September 13th, 79 skilled lionfish hunters set out to compete in the Fifth Annual Key Largo Lionfish Derby. Vying for more than $3,000 in cash prizes, 22 participating teams brought in 573 lionfish to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during this sunrise to 5:00 pm event. Team We’re No. 2 took 1st place for most lionfish with an impressive 154 lionfish.
KEY LARGO, FLA. – Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) will kick off the 2021 Lionfish Derby Series with a socially distant Earth Day Lionfish Derby on Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25.
Divers will return to Florida Keys waters next month on a mission: net thousands of dollars in cash and prizes while protecting the environment from invasive lionfish.
Green Turtle Cay-July 19, 2010
Organizers of the Second Annual Lionfish Derby held in Green Turtle Cay, June 19 reported that 941 lionfish were captured in the event held this week-end at the Green Turtle Club.
Twenty-one boats participated, with teams from Florida and the Bahamas searching the Abaco waters for lionfish in perfect weather and conditions.