An invasive species of fish is multiplying at an alarming rate off Northeast Florida’s coast, and there is nothing to stop them other than divers.
“(Lionfish) have no predators,” explained local diver and dive shop owner Matt Myers.
The fish are known for their venomous spines, which can cause an excruciatingly painful prick to anyone who even brushes by one of its 18 spines.
“Nothing eats them, nothing eats their eggs, and so they are reproducing at an alarming rate,” Myers said.
Myers and another local diver, Renee Liggero, have organized a tournament this Saturday offering cash prizes to the divers who catch the most lionfish, the biggest lionfish and the smallest lionfish.
“I’ve been to places before where you see one or two, but when we went to a wreck dive here (off Northeast Florida) there were hundreds and hundreds of them,” said Liggero. “I knew we had a problem.”
Myers said lionfish eat juvenile native fish, impacting the number of adult fish off the Northeast Florida coast, and the area doesn’t draw as many divers who kill lionfish as other Florida destinations.
Lionfish are not caught by fishermen and can be found in water 1,000 feet deep.
“When you look at the bigger picture, they are impacting our ecosystem, so we need to do what we can to minimize it,” explained Myers, who said he can remember when he first started diving off Jacksonville years ago he would see grouper everywhere, but not now. “If you see one or two in a dive that’s a lot.”
He said lionfish eating juvenile grouper is contributing to the dwindling numbers of adult grouper off the Northeast Florida coast.
Divers use a spear gun to catch lionfish. Myers said they do not need a license to hunt them, and there is no bag limit.
He sells the lionfish he hunts to restaurants. While their spines are venomous, they are safe to eat.
2024 Northeast Florida Lionfish Roundup
6:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7
4870 Ocean St., Atlantic Beach, Fla.
Mandatory Capts. meeting at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6
There is a $35 registration fee, click here to learn more:
The deadline to register is Friday, Sept. 6, by midnight. The more divers who participate, the more cash prizes are available. In addition, diving gear will be included among the prizes.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issues a challenge every year encouraging and rewarding recreational and commercial divers to remove lionfish from Florida waters.
There is a tiered prize system to encourage the continued harvest of the invasive species. Click here to learn more.