Invasive Lionfish in Destin, Florida - Seeking Solutions

At Newman-Dailey Resort Properties, we care about our marine environment and our team members are actively involved in a variety of organizations working to protect and preserve our delicate coastal ecology. Destin Real Estate Agent Colin Kirkwood is one of our team members who is involved in supporting solutions for the invasive Lionfish whose populations are growing in local waters. Here he shares information about this prickly problem and what is being done in Destin.  

Invasive Lionfish in Destin - Seeking Solutions 

Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific, but are now established along the southeast coast of the U.S., the Caribbean, and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico.

How did the fish get to the Atlantic? While the exact cause is unknown, it's likely that humans provided a helping hand. Experts speculate that people have been dumping unwanted lionfish from home aquariums into the Atlantic Ocean for up to 25 years.

Since lionfish are not native to Atlantic waters, they have very few predators. They are carnivores that feed on small crustaceans and fish, including the young of important commercial fish species such as snapper and grouper.

Unfortunately, NOAA researchers have concluded that invasive lionfish populations will continue to grow and cannot be eliminated using conventional methods. Marine invaders are nearly impossible to eradicate once established.

How lionfish will affect native fish populations and commercial fishing industries has yet to be determined. What is known is that non-native species can dramatically affect native ecosystems and local fishing economies. Experts are carefully studying these invaders to better understand their role in, and potential threat to, Atlantic Ocean ecosystems.

Lionfish have venomous spines that can be very painful. Scientists are also actively studying these fish to better understand the potential threat that lionfish pose to key reef and commercial fish species.

Destin doing its part:

The 2019 Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament was a great success.  As you may or may not know from the massive amounts of media buzz, we had THE MOST successful Lionfish tournament in history. 

We expected it would be a great turn out and we would catch a record number of lionfish but we did not expect this. Below are the statistics of this years Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament. We can only expect that next year these records will be broken again.

We shattered records everywhere:

=  most participants (187)

=  largest cash prizes ($48,000)

=  most Lionfish turned in during the pre-tournament (5,048)

=  most Lionfish removed during a 2 day period (14,119)

=  19,167 Total fish removed during this event

This article was contributed by Colin Kirkwood, Destin Real Estate Agent and avid fisherman. 

Interested in learning more on this topic, in our blog "Taking a Bite Out of the Problem." 

Make plans to be part of the solution. Save the date for the Emerald Coast Lionfish Tournament, May 14-17, 2020. 

Interested in learning more about Destin real estate and property values along Florida's Gulf Coast, contact Newman-Dailey's Real Estate Division at 850-837-1071 or contact Colin by email at [email protected]. 

Interested in vacationing along the Emerald Coast and joining the effort to remove Lionfish from local waters, view our collection of Destin vacation rentals online or call one of our friendly vacation specialists at 1-800-225-7652.

See you @ the beach!