I spend most of my life telling divers to keep their hands to themselves. Don’t touch the coral. Don’t grab the wreck. Don’t take souvenirs. (If you need a refresher, Captain Clutchy is still in timeout.)
Then along comes the lionfish, and the whole rulebook flips upside down. In the parts of the Atlantic it has invaded, the official message is basically: please take it. Take lots. Bring a cooler.
Welcome to the lionfish derby, the only dive event where “I removed a fish from the reef” earns you a trophy instead of a lecture.
My first lionfish was in Curaçao in 2016, hiding in the coral. Beautiful fish. Seriously gorgeous. But I knew the devastation they cause, so I wasn’t swooning. I was excited to learn how to catch and cook them.
Who invited this guy?
Nobody. That’s the problem.
Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific. In the Atlantic, “lionfish” actually means two nearly identical species: the red lionfish (Pterois volitans) and the devil firefish (Pterois miles). According to NOAA, the first one was reported in South Florida waters in 1985, and they were documented as established in the early 2000s. NOAA Fisheries says repeated escapes or releases from home aquariums are a plausible cause.
Today the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says lionfish are found from North Carolina to South America, including the Gulf, in waters up to 1,000 feet deep.
Why do reef nerds lose sleep over this fish?
- It eats everything. NOAA lists more than 50 species of fish on the lionfish menu.
- It eats a lot. NOAA Fisheries reports that a single lionfish on a reef can reduce recruitment of native reef fish by 79 percent.
- It breeds like it’s being paid to. NOAA says a mature female releases roughly two million eggs a year, and they reproduce all year long.
- It has very few predators outside its home range. Turns out “covered in venomous spines” is an effective dating filter for things that want to eat you.
There’s also a domino effect. Lionfish eat herbivores, herbivores eat algae, and fewer algae-eaters means algae can take over already stressed coral.
One bit of good news: NOAA Fisheries says its surveys show US populations peaked around 2016 and have declined since, though biologists suspect the Gulf population hasn’t peaked yet. So: progress, not victory.
Welcome to the derby
A lionfish derby is a removal competition. Teams of divers head out, spear or net as many lionfish as they can, and bring them back to be counted. The winners get prizes. The reef gets a break. Everybody wins except the lionfish.
REEF (the Reef Environmental Education Foundation) runs lionfish derbies in Florida every year and also offers collecting and handling workshops. If you want to try lionfish hunting, a workshop is the smartest first step.
Florida’s rules, per the FWC:
- No minimum size, no daily bag limit, and the season is open year-round.
- No recreational fishing license is needed if you’re using a pole spear, a Hawaiian sling, a handheld net, or a spearing device designed specifically for lionfish.
- Spears are not allowed in some places, like near public swimming beaches and piers, and in Florida state park waters. Handheld nets are allowed everywhere.
Outside Florida? Rules change by country, island and marine park, and plenty of protected areas ban spearing completely. Ask your dive operator before you pack a pole spear. “But it’s an invasive species” is not a legal defense.
Me? I hunt lionfish every time we go south. I love shooting them, and they’re delicious. Invasive species control never tasted so good.
The bad-diver bingo card
A derby is still a dive. Some behavior I’d love to never see:
- The reef jouster. FWC specifically asks spearers to make sure spears don’t hit and damage the reef. If you’re stabbing coral to get a fish, you’re the invasive species now.
- The shark whisperer. Myth: feed speared lionfish to sharks or eels and they’ll “learn” to hunt them. FWC calls this dangerous, illegal (in Florida) and proven not effective. All you teach a shark is that divers equal snacks.
- The bare-hand hero. See next section.
The pointy end: venomous, not poisonous
Myth: lionfish are poisonous. Nope. They’re venomous. Poison is something you eat. Venom is something that gets injected into you, in this case through the spines.
FWC says lionfish have up to 18 venomous spines on their dorsal, pelvic and anal fins. NOAA describes the sting as extremely painful, and it can cause sweating, respiratory distress and even paralysis.
FWC’s safety advice:
- If you’re stung, put the wound in hot (not scalding) water for 30 to 90 minutes and get medical help if needed.
- Venom stays active in the spines even after the fish is dead and on ice. A dead lionfish is still a jerk.
- Wear puncture-resistant gloves, and hold the fish by the bony gill plates or the soft pectoral fins.
Confession time: I hunt every trip, and I still manage to poke myself with a spine every year. So do as I say, not as I bleed. Wear the gloves.
Can you eat it? Yes. Read this part anyway.
Sustainability: In the invaded Atlantic range, eating lionfish is about as guilt-free as seafood gets. Every lionfish on a plate is one that’s not eating baby snapper. REEF even runs an “Eat Lionfish, Not Grouper!” message. In its native Indo-Pacific range it’s a native fish, so the “eat it to save the reef” logic doesn’t apply there.
Safety: NOAA Fisheries says the meat is considered safe to eat and that ciguatera poisoning from lionfish is very rare. But “rare” isn’t “never.” A 2014 study in the US Virgin Islands found measurable ciguatoxin in about 40 percent of lionfish tested, with about 12 percent above the FDA guidance level. NOAA’s coastal science office noted that no lionfish ciguatera cases had been reported to the FDA at the time, and recommends checking with local fishers and health agencies before harvesting to eat.
And here’s the myth that really needs to die: you can’t cook ciguatera out. The CDC says ciguatera toxins aren’t destroyed by cooking, freezing, pickling, salting or smoking, and they don’t change the taste or smell of the fish.
That includes ceviche. Citrus changes the texture, not the toxin. So if you’re making our Lionfish Ceviche with Mango, start with lionfish from a source you trust.
Be a good guest this winter
Planning a winter escape south? Caribbean reefs could use some manners. The Caribbean Coral Reef Watch outlook for October 2026 to January 2027 reports significant heat stress across parts of the region, likely continuing in the eastern and southern Caribbean through November.
Stressed reefs don’t need fins in their face. Nail your buoyancy, keep your hands to yourself (lionfish excepted, with gloves and permission), and look for the little residents like the flamingo tongue snail without poking them.
For more creatures that deserve respect from a distance, see 10 Sea Creatures You Should Definitely Be Afraid Of.
Have you joined a lionfish derby or eaten lionfish on a trip? Tell me about it in the comments. Bonus points if you still have all your fingers.
Angry Octopus out. 🐙
Sources
- NOAA National Ocean Service, “What is a lionfish?”: oceanservice.noaa.gov
- NOAA Fisheries, “Impacts of Invasive Lionfish”: fisheries.noaa.gov
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Lionfish” (regulations, safe handling, filleting): myfwc.com
- Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), “Invasive Species Program”: reef.org
- Robertson, A. et al. (2014). “Invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans): A Potential Human Health Threat for Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Tropical Waters.” Marine Drugs 12(1): 88-97: doi.org/10.3390/md12010088
- NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, “Eating USVI Invasive Lionfish Could Lead to Ciguatera Fish Poisoning” (2014): coastalscience.noaa.gov
- CDC Yellow Book 2026, “Food Poisoning from Marine Toxins”: cdc.gov
- Caribbean Coral Reef Watch, Vol. XI Issue VI (October 2026 to January 2027): rcc.cimh.edu.bb (PDF)
