Lionfish

LIONFISH DERBY RULES
 
1. Lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) eligible for entry may only be taken during the tournament hours. No previously caught or frozen lionfish will be allowed, however, please keep all lionfish on ice.

2. Six consecutive hours without a small craft warning issued by the National Weather Service constitutes a valid tournament. All waters in the Gulf of Mexico are eligible for tournament. Should a cancellation of the tournament occur due to weather, the event will not be rescheduled.

3. Tournament participants must check in and attend the Captain’s safety meeting at the Grand Lagoon Yacht Club, 10653 Gulf Beach Hwy, at 6:00pm the night before the daily event starts, Thursday, June 14th, to participate in the tournament.

4. Registered participants who have not checked in or who have not signed the legal waiver form and the Lionfish understanding of risk form will not be considered entered in the tournament regardless of whether or not registration fees were paid.

5. Only legal means of capture in areas allowing use of those gear types will be allowed. All existing federal, state, and local laws must be followed.

6. To qualify for prizes, participants must be registered, paid and show proper identification. All participants must sign a legal waiver form and the lionfish understanding of risk form.

7. Non-refundable registration fees are $40 per participant.

8. Protective gloves should be worn when handling lionfish. Participants are encouraged to carry a thermos bottle on the boat containing hot, but not scalding, water or heat packs for first aid purposes.

9. Tournament hours: Sunrise until sunset Friday 6/15/18 and Saturday 6/16/18. All fish must be present at scoring station by times and date designated for prizes.

10. Lionfish may only be taken during tournament hours and the fish must be presented to the scoring station. Scoring station opened from 5:00 – 8:00pm Fri 6/15/18 and 4:00 – 8:00pm Sat 6/16/18. All fish must be present at scoring station by 8:00pm Sat 6/16/18 to be counted.

11. Only one winning entry per person will be allowed in each category.

12. All lionfish must be in whole condition (no missing heads or tails). Largest and smallest fish will be determined by total length of the fish in millimeters measuring from tip of snout to tip of tail.

13. Lionfish caught during the derby may be used for sampling and or research during the event days. Fish caught must be preserved on ice for donations. All other Lionfish not donated must be disposed of properly by the individual capturing the Lionfish.

14. All entrants agree to allow tournament officials, Grand Lagoon Yacht Club to take and use photos for media and promotional purposes.

15. In the event of a tie the winning individual will be determined by the earliest check in of its lionfish at the scoring station.

16. The Lionfish tournament is an honor system tournament with all registrants being responsible for compliance with the rules.

17. Anyone found violating tournament rules by the tournament officials will be disqualified from receiving any tournament prizes and prohibited from entry in any future tournaments.

18. Decisions of the derby officials are final.
 
 
LIONFISH DERBY PRIZES
Most Fish $500
Shortest Fish $250
Longest Fish $250