Abstract

The first reported sighting of invasive lionfish occurred in 1985 off Dania Beach, Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is taking actions to combat this invasion and prevent further damage to native marine ecosystems. In recent years, FWC has implemented rule changes to allow uninhibited harvest of lionfish, hosted summits to collect stakeholder feedback on state involvement in lionfish control, created a Lionfish Outreach Program to encourage further participation in lionfish removals throughout the state, and initiated a draft Lionfish Control Plan specific to the state of Florida. Here, we address the specific rule changes that have been approved to assist stakeholders in removal of invasive lionfish and gauge their effectiveness based on public surveys. We review goals and lessons learned from the stakeholder meetings and summits FWC has held and how this has led to the draft of a state Lionfish Control Plan. We also review the accomplishments of the Lionfish Outreach Program and its future directions. This includes the expansion of the Reef Rangers Lionfish Control Program, in which divers pledge to clean lionfish off their local reefs and engage with other dive groups in their community. The FWC highly encourages removals of lionfish from Florida waters, and continually seeks out new ways in which to control this invasive species.

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