MIAMI (AP) - Florida’s Lionfish Challenge is open and will run through the summer.
The annual contest began May 22 and will end on Labor Day, Sept. 7, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission news release. Winners will be announced a week later at the Lionfish Removal and Awareness Festival in Destin.
The challenge has recreational and commercial categories with tiered prizes. The minimum to qualify is 20 lionfish for recreational participants or 20 pounds of lionfish for commercial.
The most common methods of harvesting lionfish are spearing and using a hand-held net. Lionfish are also caught as bycatch in commercial lobster and stone crab traps.
Lionfish are native in ocean waters off Africa, Asia and Australia. They were first discovered near Fort Lauderdale in 1985 and have since spread statewide and beyond. Lionfish are invasive to Florida and harm native fish that are important to maintaining healthy reefs. Lionfish have venomous spines and few natural predators in U.S. waters.
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