NEWS RELEASES
Lionfish Festival Set For May 19-20 in Perdido Key
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved through FWC's website.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will host its annual Lionfish Removal and Awareness Festival Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at a new location, the Flora-Bama Yacht Club and Ole River Grill in Perdido Key on the Florida/Alabama coastal border. Activities include fillet demonstrations, free lionfish tastings prepared by celebrity chefs, family-friendly games and activities, and more than 40 art, diving and conservation booths, plus a benefit concert by Little Texas Sunday at 5 p.m. presented by Coast Watch Alliance and Lionfish University. Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day, held the first Saturday after Mother’s Day each year, raises awareness about lionfish, a non-native, invasive species that negatively impacts native species and habitat.
The festival coincides with the annual Lionfish World Championship Tournament, hosted by Coast Watch Alliance, and the beginning of the 2018 Lionfish Challenge, an FWC lionfish removal incentive program that starts on Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day. Harvesters who remove the most lionfish will be crowned the recreational Lionfish King/Queen and the Commercial Champion. Other lionfish derbies and festivals held throughout Florida include the Lion Tamer Tournament in Panama City Beach, Sebastian Lionfish Fest, and the FSDA Lionfish Calcutta in St. Petersburg. Some useful links for these programs are MyFWC.com/Lionfish and Reef Rangers.
For the full press release by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), click here.