4th Annual Caye Caulker Lionfish Derby Tournament to be held on March 23rd

For the fourth consecutive year, Caye Caulker’s Lionfish Derby Tournament will take place at Barrier Reef Sports Bar and Grill. This year’s tournament is on Saturday, March 23rd and various teams will be competing in four different categories, including ‘Most Lionfish’ via scuba diving or free diving, plus ‘Largest Lionfish’ and ‘Smallest Lionfish.’

The tournament begins at 7AM from Barrier Reef Sports Bar and Grill in Caye Caulker, with boats heading out to sea fully equipped to catch as many lionfish as they can, hoping to claim one of the fabulous tournament prizes. The teams spend approximately eight hours at sea and are all expected to be back to the weighing and count station by 3PM. This is the highlight of the tournament, and a large crowd of spectators gather at the scale to view the amount of fish caught.

While the participants are at sea, spectators get the chance to participate in raffles, purchase beautiful lionfish jewelry and even see how conservationists collect scientific data from the various specimens caught. This year’s proceeds from the raffle will benefit Caye Caulker Humane Society and Frontier Belize Operations in Caye Caulker. After the tournament, spectators will also get the chance to sample different delicious lionfish dishes prepared in ceviche, grilled or fried.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see more photos in the San Pedro Sun

Annual Caye Caulker Lionfish Derby registers decrease in invasive fish

One of the most aggressive marine predators inhabiting Belizean waters became the prey during the fourth annual Caye Caulker Lionfish Derby Competition on Saturday, March 23rd. Held at the Barrier Reef Sports Bar and Grill, the competition saw eight teams heading out to sea early in the morning to try and catch as much Lionfish as possible. In addition, there were some fabulous prizes up for grabs, including for Smallest Lionfish, Largest Lionfish, Most Lionfish caught by scuba divers and Most Lionfish caught by free dive.

After weighing all catches, a total of 618 lionfish were recorded for this year’s event. The amount is gradually decreasing every year, and the participants told The San Pedro Sun that they definitely noticed less lionfish out at sea. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there, and fishermen believe that these derbies should be a regular occurrence to make a bigger dent on the Lionfish population.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see more photos in the San Pedro Sun