REEF Earth Day Lionfish Derby
Date: April 22-24, 2022
Calling all lionfish hunters!
Registration is now open for the 9th Annual REEF Earth Day Lionfish Derby on Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24, 2022.
How to Participate: Teams of two to four people may register online here. Registration is $75 per team through March 25 and $100 per team through April 22.
Captain’s Meeting: All team captains must attend the Captain’s Meeting, to be held at 6:30pm on April 22. Attendees may join the meeting virtually or in person at the REEF Campus in Key Largo.
Lionfish Hunting: Derby participants may hunt lionfish from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, April 23. Fishing is permitted in Monroe County, Florida waters only.
Lionfish Scoring and Derby Celebration: All lionfish must be dropped off at Sharkey’s Sharkbite Grill in Key Largo between 9am-12pm on Sunday, April 24, with the derby celebration and awards ceremony to follow. The event is open to the public and will include scoring, fillet and dissection demos, lionfish tastings, games, crafts, and raffle prizes. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Prizes: Cash prizes will be awarded to the teams who harvest the most, largest, and smallest lionfish. The Most Lionfish category has two divisions:
• Apex Predators (Competitive, higher prize money)
• Reef Defenders (Casual, less prize money)
Dive Charters: Don’t have a boat? Local dive shops are offering lionfish dive charters on April 23. Contact lionfish@REEF.org for more information.
For more info, check out the Facebook event and the REEF Lionfish Derby webpage.
Be sure to save the date for the 2022 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival on Sept. 8-11 at Postcard Inn Resort & Marina in Islamorada. Check out the REEF Lionfish Derby webpage for updates, and stay tuned for more information about this event!