Divers set record for catching 24,699 invasive lionfish

US Divers catch huge numbers of lionfish in Florida's annual invasive fish kill contest.

Divers take souvenir photos with the lionfish they caught. Photo: Yahoo

Burmese pythons and lionfish are two of the more difficult invasive species to control in Florida. But given their sheer numbers, the venomous lionfish seem to be the prime target for eradication efforts. The world’s largest lionfish catch, the annual Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament, announced on May 23 that divers caught a record 24,699 lionfish off the Gulf Coast of Forida, nearly 11,000 more than in 2022.

The size of these predatory fish also seems to be getting bigger. The average lionfish is 12-15 inches long off the coast of Florida, but a diver from Dibs on Bottom caught a lionfish that was nearly 18 inches long. It was the largest individual in the five-year history of the competition. A total of 144 divers from across the country caught 24,699 lionfish for a chance to win the $100,000 prize. The competition took place over two days, May 19-20. The Deep Water Mafia team came out on top with 2,898 lionfish.

Lionfish are native to the Indo- Pacific and Red Sea, but the species first appeared on Florida’s Atlantic coast in 1985. They quickly spread, reaching the northern Gulf of Mexico by 2010, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Lionfish have 18 venomous spines and a painful sting can cause heart rate changes, abdominal pain, sweating and fainting. Deaths are rare, but symptoms can last up to 30 days.

Lionfish are also famous for being the only species that can blow water to push prey toward them and swallow them whole. They are ambush predators, often cornering their prey. They can eat prey more than twice their body length and prey on 70 species of fish and invertebrates. Lionfish compete with native species such as groupers and snappers for food, and can negatively impact reef habitats by depriving them of ecologically important organisms such as algae-eating fish.

An Khang (According to Miami Herald )

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