Final Leg of Florida Keys Lionfish Derby to Take Place in November

The Lower Keys Lionfish Derby continues its ongoing series next month in a bid to control the population of non-native lionfish in Florida Keys.

Tourists taking scuba diving holidays to Florida in November will be able to join in on the underwater activities planned as a part of a series that has been hosted by the Reef Environmental Education Foundation and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary over the past few months.

Image by evbjone, on Flickr.

The event will be the last of the 2011 series and will take place at Hurricane Hole Marina in Key West on 5th November and during it divers will battle it out to win $3,500 of cash and prizes.

The purpose of the event is to try and remove Indo-Pacific red lionfish from the waters of Florida Keys because they are causing damage to reef systems. The non-native species are thought to have been carelessly released into the waters by people who kept them in aquariums during the 1980's.

Image by berniedup, on Flickr.

Lionfish have venomous spiky tentacles that are not only used to catch prey but can also be dangerous to fisherman and divers. They are territorial towards other reef fish and because they have no known predators, they pose a threat to delicate reef systems. By removing the fish, native species are able to grow and balance is restored to the fragile coral ecosystem in Florida Keys.

The event is open to all certified divers, such as teams of professional divers or tourists taking scuba diving holidays, and registration fees are $120 if booked by 2nd November and $150 thereafter. Divers can join a local dive charter or they can bring their own boats to take part in the event.

Image by Mark Lightfoot, on Flickr.

Teams can start their scuba diving mission in Florida to collect lionfish at sunrise and all catches must be returned to the scoring station between 4 and 6 p.m.

The prizes include $1,000 cash, $500 cash, and a $250 gift card to Diver's Direct for the Most Lionfish caught; $500 cash, $200 cash, and a $100 gift card to Diver's Direct for the Biggest Lionfish caught; and $500 cash, $200 cash, and a $100 gift card to Diver's Direct for the Smallest Lionfish caught.

At the end of the day, divers and spectators will be able to eat their lionfish in specially-prepared dishes and an awards ceremony will see winners' presented with their prizes.

Image by directdivers, on Flickr.

Florida Keys is one of America's most popular scuba diving destinations and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary covers an area of 2,900 square nautical miles; with cyrstalline waters thriving with spectacular marine species such as dolphins, turtles, whales, rays, eels, reef fish and colourful corals.