May 23, 2019 — This year’s Emerald Coast Open was a record-breaker with nearly 20,000 lionfish removed from the water in Okaloosa County.
The annual fishing tournament aims to reduce the number of lionfish from the Gulf of Mexico where they pose a threat to native marine life.
During the pre-tournament competition, which began Feb.1, lionfish hunters removed 5,048 of the invasive species. Another 14,119 were removed during the main event last weekend, bringing the grand total to 19,167. The tournament had a total of 189 individual hunters from across the United States and Caribbean.
“Last year’s total was 9,000,” said Brady Hale, marketing coordinator for the Emerald Coast Open. “We had a big jump in numbers and we almost doubled in participation.”
The winning team, Florida Man, finished the tournament with 2,241 lionfish earning the $10,000 grand prize. Captain Josh Livingston said he had been hunting lionfish for the past five years. He’s also working with the University of Florida on deploying lionfish traps in the Gulf.
“There’s a lot of prep work — understanding where the fish are at, looking for trends and creating a solid game plan,” he explained.
While there were cash prizes at stake, lionfish removal is more about conservation than competition. For the past 30 years, the non-native species have invaded the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean reducing fish populations at a rapid rate.
“They can eat 30 to 40 fish per hour, they’re prolific breeders and they have no predators…it’s a trifecta of bad,” Hale said.
Another concern is the local commercial and recreational fishing industry, especially in Destin which has the largest commercial fishing fleet in the state.
“There are hundreds of boats that go out — one lionfish can really take out a population of fish,” Hale said. “In the early 2000s, the Bahamas lost up to 80% of fish diversity (to lionfish). People aren’t going to come here and pay to fish red snapper if there’s none left.”