19,560 lionfish caught in 2 days!

追加: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]That's the last bit.

[00:00:04]>> Welcome to the madness that is the Emerald Coast Open, the largest lionfish derby in the world.

[00:00:11]This may look like just buckets of fish being moved around, but what you're seeing here is one of the biggest hands-on conservation efforts in the fight against invasive lionfish.

[00:00:21]This is the behind the scenes at the 2023 Emerald Coast Open in Destin, Florida. That year, during the 2-day tournament, divers removed 19,560 lionfish from Gulf waters. And every single one of these fish matters.

[00:00:36]Lionfish are not native to the Gulf.

[00:00:38]They come from the Indo-Pacific, but here they don't have natural predators to keep them in check. They reproduce fast, eat heavily, and can wipe out huge numbers of small reef fish, including the juveniles of important native species.

[00:00:53]Along the Florida Panhandle, that's a serious problem.

[00:00:57]This derby turns removal into action.

[00:01:00]Divers head out, hunt lionfish one by one, bring them back to the dock, and each fish is counted and measured.

[00:01:07]The teams are vying for the titles of most lionfish captured, along with the largest and smallest lionfish.

[00:01:15]It's competition, yes, but it's also education, data collection, seafood promotion, and reef protection all happening at the same time.

[00:01:23]Because we may never remove every lionfish from the Gulf, but targeted removals like this can help reduce pressure on local reefs and protect the native fish that belong there. So, when you see buckets of lionfish moving through the weigh station, you're not just looking at a tournament. You're looking at thousands of invasive predators taken off the reef, and that is what action looks like.

[00:01:46]>> Never ending.

[00:01:47]>> Bought by local restaurant, these lionfish are being packaged to be sent to processing. And here's how you can help. Encourage local restaurants to put lionfish on their menus.

[00:01:59]>> More ice.

[00:02:03]Big operations over here.

[00:02:05]>> If you'd like to learn more, be sure to give me a follow.

[00:02:08]>> Well, I appreciate it.