Lionfish Hunters wanted for Miami-Dade County Lionfish Derby

(MIAMI, April 9, 2012) – Miami-Dade Cooperative Extension’s Sea Grant Program and REEF are hosting the 2012 Miami-Dade County Lionfish Derby on Saturday, April 28th at Black Point Park & Marina.

This one-day competition allows registered teams to get out on the water and collect as many lionfish as possible between sunrise and 5:00 pm.  The collection period will be followed by a raffle and awards ceremony where prizes will be awarded for the Most, Biggest and Smallest lionfish caught.  Scoring and lionfish tastings will be open to the public.

A mandatory Captain’s Meeting will be held at the Black Point Ocean Grill on Friday, April 27th at 7 pm. The meeting will involve a presentation on the state of the lionfish invasion as well as techniques for capture and safe handling of lionfish.  Derby procedures, rules, and scoring methodology will also be reviewed.  All registered teams will receive a pair of protective gloves during check-in.

Help control the lionfish population while having fun and competing to win great prizes.

Pre-registration is required.  For more information or to register visit http://www.reef.org/lionfish/derbies or call 305-852-0030.