As the season of REEF’s 2018 Summer Lionfish Derby Series draws to a close, the results of the series were announced.
The series featured six lionfish derbies over the summer, and the events were presented by Whole Foods Market in the waters off the state of Florida. Key results from this summer include:
- 200 participants managed to remove a staggering 3,429 lionfish.
- The most successful team in one derby event was Team Painkillers, which gathered 212 lionfish at the Upper Keys Lionfish Derby.
- Team Proweb/Zookeeper caught the largest lionfish, at a whopping 41.1cm/16.4 inches long.
- Team Proweb/Zookeeper caught the smallest lionfish, at a tiny 3.1cm/1.25 inches long.
Overall, Team Proweb/Zookeeper took part in all six events and brought in an impressive 673 lionfish.
Over the years, REEF’s Summer Lionfish Derby Series has brought in almost 25,000 lionfish.
In addition to hunting lionfish, the series featured various outreach programs educating people about lionfish, as well as many culinary events aimed at promoting the consumption of this invasive species. Over the course of the season, 353 participants took part in lionfish culinary tasting events.
