Central Abaco Lionfish Derby 2013
Friends of the Environment is hosting its fourth annual Lionfish Derby in Marsh Harbour, Abaco at the Marsh Harbour Marina and Jib Room on Saturday June 15th. Lionfish have become a major threat to the marine resources in the Bahamas. Although this fish is here to stay, derbies such as this one are a way to help maintain local populations and generate awareness about this voracious predator.
The event will commence on Friday June 14th, 5-7pm with the Captain’s Meeting and Late Registration. The All Day Derby will start at Sunrise and end at 4pm with the Awards and Lionfish Tasting starting at 6:30pm.
The prizes are:
1st Prize $1,500
2nd Prize $1,000
3rd Prize $500
There will also be additional prizes for largest and smallest lionfish, plus $1 per lionfish up to 100 fish for 4th place and below! There is a maximum of 4 people per boat. All prizes are being donated by our sponsors: Marsh Harbour Exporters and Importers, Bahamas Marine Exporters Association and Tropic Seafood.
Free Registration and Everyone Wins Something! For registration forms please visit www.FriendsoftheEnvironment.org or contact Friends of the Environment: (242) 367-2721 or info@friendsoftheenvironment.org
For those who are not going to be here for the derby there’s another option. The Fish House in Marsh Harbour is taking lionfish on a daily basis as people catch them. They are keeping track each times someone drops off lionfish and whoever catches the most between now and the derby wins $1,000!
Each female lionfish has the ability to produce up to one million eggs each year so hypothetically speaking, if fifty percent of the total catch from this derby were female, participants of the derby eliminated over 1 billion lionfish eggs from Abaco’s waters in one day! Derbies can make an impact on local populations but everyone can help control the lionfish invasion! Catch 'em, Clean 'em, Eat 'em!!