Divers off the Northeast Florida coast are looking for lionfish.
The Northeast Florida Lionfish Blast is taking place, which has divers competing against each other to see who can remove the most lionfish from the water.
One diver has already caught 587 of them, and there’s a reason why Browns Creek Fish Camp owner Donny Trauthwein said the lionfish need to go.
“The fact that they have no natural predator is another big factor. There’s no completion for these guys,” said Trauthwein.
He said they also eat native game fish species like grouper and snapper, and they breed often.
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“Thirty-thousand eggs are possible every three to five days,” said Trauthwein.
He said the tournament has been going on for four years now, and it helps raise awareness about the invasive species and also generates data for scientific research.
"The University of North Florida has done research with our fish. We’ve given them at least 2,000 from the start of our tournament four years ago and still collecting them now,” he said.
He said they track where they are from and the sizes of them.
The competition goes through Saturday and ends at 4 p.m.
They’ll do a final count of the fish and give out multiple prizes to the divers.
Cox Media Group
