The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is celebrating the third annual Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day (Saturday, May 20) with festivals, tournaments, and the 2017 Lionfish Challenge removal incentive program.
Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day (the first Saturday after Mother’s Day each year) raises awareness about lionfish; a nonnative, invasive species that has a potential negative impact on native species and habitat.
Locally the 5th annual Northeast Florida Lionfish Blast, a month long coordinated lionfish removal effort and tournament, culminates on May 20th with a lionfish tasting, awards ceremony, and celebration from 3-6:00pm at Browns Creek Fish Camp. The Northeast Florida Lionfish Blast is a competition to see who can remove the most lionfish in 2 days of scuba diving. The Blast format allows for divers to pick any two days within the month that they want to use to remove lionfish. The tournament helps raise awareness in the community of the lionfish epidemic, removes invasive species from our local waters, generates data for scientific research, and brings together the members of the fishing and diving communities.
In the past 4 years the Lionfish Blast has removed over 7000 lionfish from the reefs and wrecks in the North Florida coastal waters. These fish are found from 9 miles from our inlet out to the safest recreational diving depths, and beyond, in great numbers. The winner of last year's tournament brought in 587 lionfish. So far this year, 1,937 lionfish have been harvested. The Lionfish Blast's website asks for everyone's help in the effort, "We need everyone's help to control the lionfish population in our local waters if we wish to preserve our amazing fishery here in Northeast Florida. You can help by spearing every one you see (if you dive here), order them at your local restaurant (they are very TASTY), or supporting tournaments like ours (if you care about fishing here). Check out our website for more information on what you can do to help."
This year, participants in the Lionfish Blast have the opportunity to sell their catch if they obtain a Florida Saltwater Products License, which costs $50 and requires paperwork, but allows individuals to legally sell saltwater catches commercially. a 4-8" lionfish goes for $2.00 per pound and 8" or larger lionfish sell for $4.50 per pound.
Recreational and commercial lionfish hunters are invited to get rewarded for their lionfish removal efforts by participating in FWC’s revamped Lionfish Challenge. The program starts Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day (May 20) and will end on Labor Day (Sept. 4). New this year, lionfish hunters can participate in either a recreational or commercial category (all participants who have an active Saltwater Products License and who have commercial lionfish sales within the past year must participate in the commercial category).
The Whole Foods store in Jacksonville sells lionfish if you want to try the tasty fish. The taste of the lionfish filet is light, not fishy at all, and almost has a lobster-like rich finish. The Fish Company in Atlantic Beach sometimes serves fresh lionfish if you want to give it a try without having to turn the oven on.
Statewide, several lionfish awareness and removal efforts are taking place:
- Lion Tamer Tournament – Panama City Beach.
- Destin Lionfish Tournament – Destin.
- Sebastian Lionfish Fest – Sebastian.
- REEF Lionfish Workshop and Collection – Big Pine Key.
- Northeast Florida Lionfish Blast – Jacksonville.
- FSDA Lionfish Calcutta – St. Petersburg.
- FWC Exotic Pet Amnesty Day – Sanford – May 6.
The FWC offers more information about lionfish and removing them: Lionfish are an invasive species that have a potential negative impact on native species and habitat. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) encourages people to remove lionfish from Florida waters to help limit negative impacts to native marine life and ecosystems. Lionfish can be speared, caught in hand-held nets or caught on hook and line and there is no recreational or commercial bag limit.
Lionfish are a predatory reef fish. They eat native fish, which can reduce native populations and have negative effects on the overall reef habitat and health as they can eliminate species that serve important ecological roles such as fish that keep algae in check on the reefs. Lionfish also compete for food with native predatory fish such as grouper and snapper.
Lionfish have 18 venomous spines that are used defensively against predators. These spines should be avoided during capture and handling because of their ability to cause painful injuries. Thirteen long venomous spines are located along the front of the dorsal fin which is located on the top of the fish. Two short venomous spines are located on the pelvic fins (one on each side), which is located on the bottom of the fish closest to the fish’s head. Three additional venomous spines are located along the front edge of the anal fin, which is located on the bottom of the fish nearest the tail. The large and featherlike pectoral fins and the tail fin do not contain venomous spines.
Each bony and venomous spine is grooved and covered with a skin-like tissue. During a sting, the skin-like covering is torn and retracted as the spine is inserted into the body of a predator. This process allows direct exposure of the wound to the venomous glandular tissue located along the grooved spine. Lionfish fins are not hollow and do not inject venom like a hypodermic needle or the fangs of a snake.
The flesh of the lionfish is not poisonous or venomous.
Lionfish were first reported off Florida's Atlantic Coast near Dania Beach in 1985.
We do not know for sure how the first release into our waters occurred, but we do know the invasion began with only a handful of fish. We also know a release from ballast water was not likely the culprit as there is very little shipping from lionfish’s native range to our waters that occurs without the exchange of ballast water beforehand.
In the 2000s, the species began to be recorded off the Atlantic coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, while reports from Bermuda and Florida continued.
Since the mid-2000s, lionfish reports have increased rapidly. As of 2010, they have even begun to show up in areas where lionfish previously were not found such as along the northern Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola and Apalachicola.
Movement of lionfish likely followed currents up the Atlantic Coast, around to the Bahamas and then into the Gulf.
You can read more about lionfish on this brochure from the FWC.