SEE THE FULL LINE OF FISHING
AND HUNTING KNIVES AT
WWW.BUBBABLADE.COM
OR ORDER BY PHONE AT
1-844-486-7265
“one cut
and you’re
Through
™
”
High carbon
steel with full
tang construction
Razor sharp
serrated blade
with non-stick
coating
Big red
no-slip-grip
handle with
safety guards
and trigger grip
7-Inch
Tapered
FLEX
Fillet
Lionfish, Beware:
The 2017 Lionfish
Challenge is Underway!
With the first successful Lionfish
Challenge in the books for 2016,
comes this year’s revamped 2017
Statewide Lionfish Challenge. The
program kicked off on this year’s
Lionfish Removal and Awareness
Day May 20 and continues through
Labor Day (Sept. 4). With two
participation categories (commercial
and recreational) and more prize
opportunities for all, this year’s
Lionfish Challenge is shaping up to be
even better than the last.
Lionfish are a nonnative species
that have become well established
throughout the Gulf of Mexico, along
the Atlantic Coast, and Caribbean.
Their voracious appetites, high
reproductive output, and 18 venomous
spines make them a force to be
reckoned with. With no natural control
mechanism for reducing lionfish
populations, our native ecosystems are
counting on you to “Be the Predator”
and remove lionfish.
To participate in the Lionfish
Challenge, register at MyFWC.com/
Lionfish. Participants will be separated
into either the recreational or
commercial category. Those that have
an active Saltwater Products License
and have commercial lionfish sales
within the last year will automatically
be placed in the commercial category.
Once you register, it’s time to have
some fun.
Participants who submit 25 or
more lionfish (25 lbs. for commercial)
will be rewarded with a variety of
incentives, including a Challenge
T-shirt, commemorative coin, and the
opportunity to take an additional spiny
lobster each day during the two-day
sport season. In the recreational
category, all lionfish over the initial
25 must be brought to one of the
statewide checkpoints listed on
MyFWC.com/Lionfish. To encourage
continued removals, participants that
submit additional fish will have the
opportunity to receive prizes such as a
customized neck gaiter, reusable heat
pack for lionfish stings, customized
tumbler, and Neritic pole spear.
This year’s Lionfish Challenge is
already underway, but if you target
lionfish and have not yet registered
for the Lionfish Challenge, you still
have plenty of time to be recognized
for your removal efforts. The persons
who check in the most lionfish will be
crowned the recreational Lionfish King/
Queen and the Commercial Champion.
Both winners will be rewarded and
recognized at the Lionfish Safari
Sept. 10 in St. Petersburg.
To see a full list of participants and
prize winners, visit the Hall of Fame
page at MyFWC.com/Lionfish and
click on “Lionfish Challenge.” Happy
lionfish hunting.
Earl Solomon
49
AND HUNTING KNIVES AT
WWW.BUBBABLADE.COM
OR ORDER BY PHONE AT
1-844-486-7265
“one cut
and you’re
Through
™
”
High carbon
steel with full
tang construction
Razor sharp
serrated blade
with non-stick
coating
Big red
no-slip-grip
handle with
safety guards
and trigger grip
7-Inch
Tapered
FLEX
Fillet
Lionfish, Beware:
The 2017 Lionfish
Challenge is Underway!
With the first successful Lionfish
Challenge in the books for 2016,
comes this year’s revamped 2017
Statewide Lionfish Challenge. The
program kicked off on this year’s
Lionfish Removal and Awareness
Day May 20 and continues through
Labor Day (Sept. 4). With two
participation categories (commercial
and recreational) and more prize
opportunities for all, this year’s
Lionfish Challenge is shaping up to be
even better than the last.
Lionfish are a nonnative species
that have become well established
throughout the Gulf of Mexico, along
the Atlantic Coast, and Caribbean.
Their voracious appetites, high
reproductive output, and 18 venomous
spines make them a force to be
reckoned with. With no natural control
mechanism for reducing lionfish
populations, our native ecosystems are
counting on you to “Be the Predator”
and remove lionfish.
To participate in the Lionfish
Challenge, register at MyFWC.com/
Lionfish. Participants will be separated
into either the recreational or
commercial category. Those that have
an active Saltwater Products License
and have commercial lionfish sales
within the last year will automatically
be placed in the commercial category.
Once you register, it’s time to have
some fun.
Participants who submit 25 or
more lionfish (25 lbs. for commercial)
will be rewarded with a variety of
incentives, including a Challenge
T-shirt, commemorative coin, and the
opportunity to take an additional spiny
lobster each day during the two-day
sport season. In the recreational
category, all lionfish over the initial
25 must be brought to one of the
statewide checkpoints listed on
MyFWC.com/Lionfish. To encourage
continued removals, participants that
submit additional fish will have the
opportunity to receive prizes such as a
customized neck gaiter, reusable heat
pack for lionfish stings, customized
tumbler, and Neritic pole spear.
This year’s Lionfish Challenge is
already underway, but if you target
lionfish and have not yet registered
for the Lionfish Challenge, you still
have plenty of time to be recognized
for your removal efforts. The persons
who check in the most lionfish will be
crowned the recreational Lionfish King/
Queen and the Commercial Champion.
Both winners will be rewarded and
recognized at the Lionfish Safari
Sept. 10 in St. Petersburg.
To see a full list of participants and
prize winners, visit the Hall of Fame
page at MyFWC.com/Lionfish and
click on “Lionfish Challenge.” Happy
lionfish hunting.
Earl Solomon
49