FWC has great incentives for fishermen to target lkionfish

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering great incentives for fishermen who remove lionfish from Florida waters.

Lionfish are a nonnative, invasive species that threaten Florida’s native saltwater fish and wildlife.

They were introduced into Florida waters in the late 1980s but their population has boomed in recent years – and that is causing real problems in Florida waters.

But if you take part in the Panhandle Pilot Program and help remove lionfish from the waters off Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties, you get the chance to catch some extra fish this year.

For every 100 lionfish harvested from this seven-county region between now and May 2017, the fisherman will be eligible to receive a tag allowing him to take either a legal-sized red grouper or a legal-sized cobia that is over the bag limit from state waters.

The state will issue 100 red grouper and 30 cobia tags in total to successful participants in the pilot program.

In addition, any person or group that harvests 500 or more lionfish during this one-year period will be given the opportunity to name an artificial reef.

Find out more on-line at myfwc.com

http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lionfish/challenge/

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