REEF Invasive Lionfish Program

🏆 A FLORIDA KEYS RECORD 🏆

2,480 invasive lionfish removed. The biggest haul in 17 years of REEF derbies, and a new Florida Keys record!!!

The story this year wasn't just one dominant team, it was the depth of the field. Five Apex Predators teams each removed over 300 lionfish, something we've never seen before:

🥇 Badfish Slayers — 659 (a new REEF derby team record, beating Forever Young's 648 from 2023)
🥈 Aquamented — 395
🥉 Lionfish Exterminator Corp — 392

Other category winners:
📏 Largest fish: Lionfish Eliminators — 420 mm
🤏 Smallest fish: Badfish Slayers — 49 mm
🎯 Most fish, REEF Defenders: The Hunters — 121
🐠 Smallest live: Tequilla Little Time — 84 mm
✨ Golden Lionfish: Lionfish Exterminator Corp

Huge thanks to the Ocean Reef Conservation Association and the Monroe County Tourism Development Council for premier sponsorship 🙌 and to every team, vendor, volunteer, sponsor, artist, musician, chef and community member who made this happen.

Every lionfish off the reef is a win for native species 🪸, and this year was a record-breaking year! 🎉

4 DAYS TO GO until the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival!

Happy Earth Day! There's no better way to celebrate our planet than by taking action for our oceans. This Sunday, join us at the REEF Ocean Exploration Center in Key Largo for a free festival celebrating hands-on marine conservation — from invasive lionfish removal to education, art, and community.

Derby registration: www.reef.org/derby
Festival details: www.reef.org/LionfishFestival

5 DAYS TO GO until the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival!

Calling all divers — there's still time to register your team for REEF's 17th Annual Lionfish Derby! Captain's meeting on April 23 at Sharkey's (Key Largo), then teams head out April 24–25, sunrise to sunset, to remove invasive lionfish from the reef. Prizes for the most, largest, and smallest lionfish collected — and the awards are announced at the Festival on April 26.

It's competitive. It's fun. And it makes a real difference for our reefs.

Register now: www.reef.org/derby
Festival info: www.reef.org/LionfishFestival