Deadline: Lionfish Invitational Applications

In recent years, lionfish derbies have served to raise awareness of the invasive lionfish problem and remove large quantities of lionfish throughout the tropical western Atlantic (southeastern United States, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico). Unfortunately, this type of one-day dive/snorkel event is not practical for Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary due to the remote location and the depth of the reefs. As an alternative, the sanctuary hosts a Lionfish Invitational. This four-day event is a science-based effort in which 11 dive teams work to remove as many lionfish as possible, while also recording helpful data on lionfish activity and sightings. In addition, a science team of 8 divers conducts surveys to determine what species, quantities and sizes of fish are present at each designated site before and after the removals. The sanctuary have scheduled two trips for the 2018 season: June 24-28 and Aug. 26-30, 2018. Applications for these trips are now available and must be submitted by Mar. 31, 2018. For more information, visit flowergarden.noaa.gov.