More than 120 divers participated in the 2026 Emerald Coast Open, which is touted as the world’s largest lionfish tournament. It wrapped up May 17 with an awards ceremony at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar.
Divers this year removed more than 20,000 lionfish from the Gulf in and around the artificial reef system in Destin-Fort Walton Beach area. The lionfish tournament coincided with the Lionfish Festival at HarborWalk Village and Restaurant Week.
“This free family-friendly event has brought divers from across the country to our amazing area since 2019,” Okaloosa County Commission Chairman Trey Goodwin said in a news release.
“What our natural resources staff and partners have been able to do is remarkable. They have created a festive event for the community that also gives back to our marine ecosystem,” Goodwin said in the release.
The Emerald Coast Open consisted of a pre-tournament where divers harvested
a total of 5,734 lionfish.
Then, during the main two-day tournament, May 15-16, divers brought in 15,018 lionfish, bringing the total to 20,752.
The lionfish were measured and weighed behind AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar, with the nearby Lionfish Festival hosted by HarborWalk Village.
Divers competed in teams for over $100,000 in cash and gear prizes provided by event partners.
Divers had a chance to win for the smallest, largest, and most lionfish caught. Local restaurants also competed for best lionfish dish during Restaurant Week, leading up to the main tournament.
The team to bring in the most lionfish, and winner of $10,000, was DWM Off the Deep End with 2,641 lionfish.
Team Lady Ray pulled in the largest lionfish, 461 mm, worth $5,000.
Nole Mercy Spearfishing won $5,000 for the smallest lionfish, 56 mm (about half the length of the long edge of a credit card).
Winner of Restaurant Week, for the fourth year running, was La Paz Restaurant and Catina on Gulf Shore Drive in Destin.
There was also a category for people to guess how many lionfish would be caught. Trenlon Harris won $1,000, for his guess of 15,014. The actual number of lionfish harvested was 15,018.
Nick Tomecek, Okaloosa County Public Information Officer, provided information for this article.
This article originally appeared on The Destin Log: Divers remove more than 20,000 lionfish in Florida tournament
Reporting by The Destin Log / The Destin Log
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
