As a way to combat the epidemic of the invasive species of Lionfish in Florida waters, Mote Marine Laboratory is hosting the 6th Annual Sarasota Lionfish Derby, where teams of divers will be sent out to catch the fish between July 12-14 on the Gulf of Mexico.
Want to enter your derby team?
Registration is $120 per team with a minimum of two people per team, maximum of 4 people. The team with the most lionfish will receive $1,000 with cash prizes for second, third and fourth place. Prizes will also be given out to the first, second and third place winners for the largest and smallest fish.
You must register no later than Friday, July 12 between 5:30-6:30 p.m.
The public is invited to join in on the action for free at noon on July 14, to watch weigh-ins and dive-team scoring.
For more information on the derby, visit mote.org.
Thankfully, these pain in the ass fish are also delicious, so there will be a tasting competition following the big dive hosted by Mote Marine Laboratory, located at 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway in Sarasota.
Tickets for the chefs' tasting competition are $25 each.
Those competing in the tasting competition will be chefs from local haunts like Michael's on East, Mattison's, Modern Events, Deep Sea Diner and Indigenous.
Whet your appetite to do your part for the Florida waters.
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