The 14th annual REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival is finally here! Participants will take to the water to hunt lionfish from sunrise to sunset this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8 and 9, and we can't wait to see how many invasive lionfish they remove! So far, 26 teams are registered to compete in this year's derby. Teams may register until 6:30pm on Thursday, Sept. 7. The derby will end on Sunday, Sept. 10, with a lionfish festival at the picturesque Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina in Islamorada, Florida. The festival is open to the public from 12pm-4pm, and will feature lionfish tastings, drink specials, educational demos, games, activity booths, and live music. The awards ceremony to announce the derby winners will take place at 3:30pm. Cash prizes will be awarded to the teams who harvest the most, largest, and smallest lionfish.
If you're in the Florida Keys, we'd love to see you there! If you're not able to make it in person, we will be livestreaming during the festival on Sunday. Follow along on the REEF Invasive Species Program Facebook page to see a lionfish dissection, lionfish scoring, and more.
This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, including Ocean Conservancy, Ocean Reef Conservation Association, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, TRIAD, Mesara Foundation, and Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina, with advertising support from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council. Thank you to all sponsors for your support of REEF Invasive Species Program!