Lionfish Tournaments and Events
Get involved with lionfish removal and awareness efforts by participating in any of our statewide events and tournaments, host a "Become the Predator" workshop, feature educational brochures in your shop, or host a "Lionfish: Classroom Invasion" dissection and presentation.
Contact Lionfish@MyFWC.com for more information and to schedule.
Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day
First Saturday after Mother's Day each year. Check out our annual festival.
Get Involved
Workshop includes an educational presentation about the lionfish invasion, statewide programs and control efforts, harvesting gear and techniques, safe handling and a fillet demonstration.
Dive shops and charters can also request a lionfish excursion. FWC educates and trains divers to confidently and safely harvest lionfish.
Available upon request.
Contact Lionfish@MyFWC.com and include name of organization, location and estimated number of attendees.
Educational materials are available for display and distribution in your dive shop or classroom. Contact Lionfish@MyFWC.com and include your mailing address and type of materials requested.
View the educational lionfish brochure or poster.
Lionfish Tournament Assistance
FWC encourages removal efforts by supporting lionfish-specific and multi-species spearfishing tournaments.
From 2014-2021, Florida has held 170 tournaments and removed over 146,000 lionfish.
Learn more about the FWC tournament assistance requirements and apply for 2022- 2023 lionfish tournament assistance funds.
2022 Lionfish Tournament and Event Calendar
| Date | Location | Name | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 1- May 12, 2022 | Destin, FL |
info@emeraldcoastopen.com |
|
| April 22-24, 2022 | Key Largo, FL |
lionfish@REEF.org |
|
| May 13-15, 2022 | Destin, FL |
info@emeraldcoatopen.com |
|
| May 14-15, 2022 | Destin, FL |
Lionfish@MyFWC.com |
|
| June 10-12, 2022 | St. Pete, FL |
Tampa Bay Spearfishing Challenge |
|
| July 15-16, 2022 | Key Largo, FL |
lionfish@REEF.org |
|
| July 15-17, 2022 | New Port Richey, FL |
trier120977@gmail.com |
|
| September 8-11, 2022 | Key Largo, FL |
lionfish@REEF.org |
|
| October 1-2, 2022 | Navarre, FL |
Navarre Fishing Rodeo |
Add your tournament to our calendar!
Email the tournament name, date, location, contact information and tournament website to Lionfish@MyFWC.com.
For historical tournament results, email Lionfish@MyFWC.com.
2021 Lionfish Tournament Results
| Date | Location | Name | Number of Lionfish Harvested | Largest | Smallest | Number of Participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1- May 13, 2021 | State-wide |
Emerald Coast Open Pre-Tournament |
2505 | N/A | N/A | 38 |
| April 23-25, 2021 | Key Largo, FL |
REEF Earth Day Lionfish Derby |
494 | N/A | N/A | 45 |
| May 14-15, 2021 | Destin, FL |
Emerald Coast Open Main Tournament |
7745 | 440 | 41 | 145 |
| June 6, 2021 | St. Petersburg, FL |
Tampa Bay Spearfishing Challenge |
84 | N/A | N/A | 0 |
| August 5-8, 2021 | St. Augustine, FL |
North Florida Shootout |
246 | 15.5 in | 6.5 in | 10 |
| September 9-12, 2021 | Islamorada, FL |
Florida Keys Lionfish Festival and Tournament |
1216 | 436 | 69 | 57 |
| October 22-24, 2021 | Pensacola, FL |
Pensacola Lionfish Classic |
4254 | 434 | 25 | 56 |
Total number of lionfish removed in 2021: 16,544
*Note: sizes in mm unless otherwise noted