And the 2020 Lionfish Challenge winners are…
Photos: Flickr.com/photos/myfwcmedia/albums/72157631003581858
Check out the fifth annual Lionfish Challenge stats below on who took home the top prizes and more. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will be honoring the first place winners in each category at their hometown dive shops via Facebook Live events on Facebook.com/FWCReefRangers.
Winners
- Recreational Category
- First place Lionfish King: David Connerth, Palm Beach County, 1,141 removed.
- Second place: Russell Peters, Duval County, 842 removed.
- Third place: Shane Rasch, Palm Beach County, 619 removed.
- Commercial Category
- First place Commercial Champion: Isidoro Bedoya, Duval County, 1,196.5 pounds removed.
- Second place: Josh Livingston, Okaloosa County, 943 pounds removed.
- Third place: Rachel Bowman, Monroe County, 932.75 pounds removed.
- Mini-Challenges
- First 25 Qualifiers Raffle:
- Chris Campbell
- Sarah Peirce
- Michael Curry
- Largest Lionfish: Joshua Livingston, Okaloosa County, 408 mm.
- Most Lionfish:
- Northeast Region: Russell Peters, Duval County, 705 lionfish.
- Southeast Region: Shane Rasch, Palm Beach County, 241 lionfish.
- West Region: Jennifer Ford-Cote, Sarasota County, 105 lionfish.
- Northwest Region: Bob Gamble, Escambia County, 61 lionfish.
- Commercial: Isidoro Bedoya, Duval County, 174 pounds.
- Raffle Entry (one entry per lionfish/pound):
- Carlos Orozco, Bay County.
- Danny Ward, Sarasota County.
- Annie Beattie, Broward County.
- First 25 Qualifiers Raffle:
Final Stats
- 21,569 lionfish removed.
- 665 people registered.
- 170 people submitted lionfish (160 recreational, 10 commercial).
- The Lionfish Challenge ran from May 22 ‒ Nov.1.
Background
The Lionfish Challenge rewards harvesters with prizes for their lionfish removals. This year, participants competed in a series of mini-challenges consisting of the first 25 to qualify, the largest lionfish, the most lionfish per region, and raffle entries equal to the amount of lionfish or pounds of lionfish submitted. A variety of prizes were awarded to participants such as Shearwater Perdix dive computers, Paralenz dive cameras, GoPro Hero 9s, steel scuba cylinders, customized neck gaiters, Engel backpack coolers, polespears, Dive Rite steel backplate buoyancy control devices and more. Learn more at FWCReefRangers.com.
Links
Support Florida lionfish control programs by purchasing a Rep Your Water lionfish hat at Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
Websites