For a detailed list of checkpoints including contact information and operational hours, view the 2020 Lionfish Challenge Checkpoint Table.

1. This contest is the being conducted by the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation located at P.O. Box 11010, Tallahassee, FL 32302.
2. Winners of the raffle drawing are eligible to receive one of a number of prizes
3. Current employees of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply for or win any of the Lionfish Challenge raffle prizes.
4. There is no cost to enter to win. To be eligible to win the participant must complete a Harvest Submission Form and upload a photo of their first 20 lionfish harvested in Florida waters to FWCReefRangers.com.
5. Participants will receive one raffle entry upon completion of Harvest Submission Form.
6. Participants cannot win multiple raffle prizes during the Lionfish Challenge.
7. Winners will be randomly drawn, by 10AM ET on the following dates: June 10, 2020 (2 winners); June 24, 2020 (2 winners); July 8, 2020 (2 winners); July 22, 2020 (4 winners); August 5, 2020 (4 winners); August 19, 2020 (2 winners); September 2, 2020 (2 winners); September 16, 2020 (2 winners); September 30, 2020 (2 winners); October 14, 2020 (4 winners); October 28, 2020 (4 winners). Drawings will be made at the office of the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Inc., using a computer program designed for random selection. The winner will be notified via email and will have five (5) business days after notification to verify their shipping address. Otherwise it will be offered to the next alternate selected in the drawing.
8. Raffle prizes are awarded to winners in the order they were drawn. Raffle prizes are NOT exchangeable.
9. Participants may choose not to accept their raffle prize. In this instance the raffle prize will be entered back into the prize pool and the participant will have forfeited their entry into the drawing.
10. Void where prohibited by law.
11. The Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reserves the right to use photographs of and quotes from the winner in publications and video presentations. Raffle winners may be showcased on FWCReefRangers.com and Facebook.com/fwcreefrangers.
12. Prizes are taxable and will be reported to the IRS as appropriate. Please check with your tax advisor should you have any questions.

Rachel Bowman
Shane Rasch
Robert Simpson
Adreane Culotta
Russel Peters
Bob Gamble
Daniel Fico
Mark Eglington
Trey Lokey
Kelsey Hudson
Peter Angelotti
Brady Hale
Jane Corliss
Dawn Davis
Heather Schaefer
France Mer
Luke Byous
Glen Hoffman
James Spencer
Michael Curry
Mark Konz
Tristan Lennard

Hall of Fame

2020 Lionfish Challenge Qualifying Participants!

Tier 6- 400 lionfish or 800 lbs

Isidoro Bedoya – 1196.5 lbs
Russell Peters – 725
John Herrera – 877.3 lbs
Ryan Bonhag – 601
Shane Rasch – 597
David Connerth – 566
Helen Rodney – 516
Randall Davis – 443
Jeffrey Pacha – 420

Tier 5- 300 lionfish or 600 lbs

Rachel Bowman – 798.75 lbs
Adam Wise – 392
Carlos Orozco – 369
Annie Beattie – 362
Brooks Feeser – 358
Bob Gamble – 329
Nicole Pacha – 302
Curt Matthews – 300

Tier 4- 200 lionfish or 400 lbs

David Garrett – 476 lbs
Bob Stapleton – 420 lbs
Alex Fogg – 416 lbs
Tim Watts – 283
Sophia Gumbardo – 263
Adreane Culotta – 247
Danielle Pierone – 236
Harold Davis – 213
Paulo Ullmann – 203
Faustino Botello – 203
Jeff Banzhoff – 202

Tier 3- 100 lionfish or 200 lbs

Brady Hale – 186
Brandon Cosenza – 174
Dawn Richitt – 172
Jennifer Ford – 161
Stephen Traxler – 151
Mark Eglington – 149
Danny Ward – 145
Clint Retherford – 137
France Mer – 121
Michael Hoffman – 105
Edwin Errington – 101

Tier 2- 50 lionfish or 100 lbs

Jack Strieter – 97
Charlene Reedy – 84
Ken Ayers – 82
Heather Perez – 79
Andrew Bloem – 73
Trey Lokey – 70
William Mason – 70
Koa Viravong – 69
Tyler Chute – 67
Bill Barnes – 66
Casey Panepito – 64
Kimberly Peterson – 64
Stuart Montgomery – 59
Stacey Beasley – 52
Shawn Walker – 50

Tier 1- 20 lionfish or 20 lbs

2019 Winners

2018 Winners

2017 Winners

2016 Winners

Lionfish King

David Garrett – 3,324 Lionfish

Mini-Challenge #4: Raffle Entry

For the Raffle Entry Mini-Challenge, participants will get one raffle entry per lionfish submitted during the duration of the Mini-Challenge.

Timeline: Sept. 25 (12:01 a.m.) – Oct. 13 (11:59 p.m.), 2020

Prize: Three different names will be drawn, and each winner will receive a Dive Rite Aircell XT steel backplate BCD.

Participant must be registered for the 2020 Lionfish Challenge to participate.

Submission Requirements

Recreational Participants

Participants who have not yet qualified for the 2020 Lionfish Challenge with a submission of 20 lionfish must submit their qualifying lionfish via photo submission to the Harvest Submission Form. Once qualified, tails must be submitted to a checkpoint.

Submit lionfish tails to any of our registered checkpoints.

Checkpoint Submissions:

• Remove tails leaving a bit of meat attached and place in a plastic sandwich bag(s)
• Label bag(s) with harvester name, registration number, date of harvest and number of tails
• Bring tails to local checkpoint for verification of harvest. Checkpoints will retain bags for verification by FWC staff.
• Complete the 2020 FWC Lionfish Challenge Submission Form
• Send a copy of the Submission Form to Lionfish@MyFWC.com and the checkpoint will keep the additional copy with tails
• Checkpoints will also send a copy of the Submission Form to Lionfish@MyFWC.com

Recreational participants will have until Oct. 13, 2020 to submit their tails. Tails submitted after this date will not be accepted for the Raffle Entry Mini-Challenge. They will still be accepted for the Lionfish Challenge.

Commercial Participants

Submit lionfish trip tickets to Lionfish@MyFWC.com. Trips dated from Sept. 25 – Oct. 13, 2020 will be accepted for the Raffle Entry Mini-Challenge. Commercial participants will get one raffle entry per pound of lionfish submitted.

Trip tickets submitted after Oct. 13, 2020 will not be accepted for the Raffle Entry Mini-Challenge. They will still be accepted for the Lionfish Challenge.

Terms and Conditions

FWC will accept:

• All trip ticket submissions dated from Sept. 25 – Oct. 13, 2020
• All tail submissions submitted to checkpoints from Sept. 25 – Oct. 13, 2020
• All qualifying photo submissions with harvest dates between Sept. 25 – Oct. 13, 2020

FWC reserves the right to deny submission if participant fails to fulfill the requirements for verification as described above. FWC is not liable for any incidences that occur during lionfish harvesting trips. Participants must harvest and submit lionfish during the Mini-Challenge timeline in order to be eligible for reward. All final winner decisions will be determined by FWC staff. A participant can only win once. Once a winning name has been drawn, it cannot be drawn again. FWC reserves the right to disqualify any participant if there are any suspicions of a false or edited submission.

Mini-Challenge #3: Most Lionfish

Timeline: Aug. 21 (12:01 a.m.) – Sept. 1 (11:59 p.m.), 2020

Prize: $500 for each regional winner and $500 for the state-wide commercial winner

Participant must be registered for the 2020 Lionfish Challenge to participate.

Recreational Regions

• Northwest: Escambia to Wakulla county
• West: Taylor to Collier county
• Northeast: Nassau to Indian River county
• Southeast: St. Lucie to Monroe county

*There are no regions for the commercial participants. The commercial category will have one winner throughout the entire state of Florida.

Submission Requirements

Recreational Participants

Unqualified participants (less than 20 lionfish) must submit their qualifying lionfish via photo submission to the Harvest Submission Form. Once qualified, tails must be submitted to a checkpoint.

Submit lionfish tails to any of our registered checkpoints.

Checkpoint Submissions:

• Remove tails leaving a bit of meat attached and place in a plastic sandwich bag(s)
• Label bag(s) with harvester name, registration number, date of harvest and number of tails
• Bring tails to local checkpoint for verification of harvest. Checkpoints will retain bags for verification by FWC staff.
• Complete the 2020 FWC Lionfish Challenge Submission Form
• Send a copy of the Submission Form to Lionfish@MyFWC.com and the checkpoint will keep the additional copy with tails
• Checkpoints will also send a copy of the Submission Form to Lionfish@MyFWC.com

Recreational participants will have until Sept. 1, 2020 to submit their tails. Tails submitted after this date will not be accepted for the Most Lionfish Mini-Challenge. They will still be accepted for the Lionfish Challenge.

Commercial Participants

Submit lionfish trip tickets to Lionfish@MyFWC.com. Trips dated from Aug. 21 – Sept. 1, 2020 will be accepted for the Most Lionfish Mini-Challenge.

Rewards

The recreational participants who submit the most lionfish tails to checkpoints between Aug. 21 – Sept. 1 in each specified region will be rewarded with a cash prize of $500. The commercial participant who submits the most pounds of lionfish through trip tickets within the Most Lionfish Mini-Challenge timeline will be rewarded with a cash prize of $500.

Terms and Conditions

FWC will accept all trip ticket submissions dated from Aug. 21 – Sept. 1, 2020. FWC will accept all tail submissions submitted to checkpoints from Aug. 21 – Sept. 1, 2020. Tails must be submitted within those dates to be eligible for the Most Lionfish Mini-Challenge.

FWC reserves the right to deny submission if participant fails to fulfill the requirements for verification as described above. FWC is not liable for any incidences that occur during lionfish harvesting trips. Participants must harvest lionfish during the Mini-Challenge timeline in order to be eligible for reward. Only the participants who harvest and submit the most lionfish between Aug. 21 – Sept. 1, 2020 will receive the top reward for each region. A participant cannot be a winner in multiple regions. All final winner decisions will be determined by FWC staff. FWC reserves the right to disqualify any participants if there are any suspicions of a false or edited submission.

Winners

Northeast Region: Russell Peters – 705 lionfish

Southeast Region: Shane Rasch – 241 lionfish

West Region: Jennifer Ford-Cote – 105 lionfish

Northwest Region: Bob Gamble – 61 lionfish

Commercial: Isidoro Bedoya – 174 lbs

Mini-Challenge #2: Largest Lionfish

Timeline: July 3 (12:01 a.m.) – July 13 (11:59 p.m.), 2020

Prize: Shearwater Perdix Dive Computer

Participant must be registered for the 2020 Lionfish Challenge to participate.

Lionfish Measurement:

• Use a metric fish board or metric measuring tape secured to a flat surface. The tape should run parallel to the fish’s midline from snout to tail. Measure the total length of the lionfish: obtain fish length from the tip of the snout to the longest point on the tail (caudal fin). Ensure that the specimen’s mouth is closed during measurement. (See example photo)
• The length of the fish must be measured in millimeters. Lionfish must be laid flat with the tip of the mouth closed at 0.00 mm.
• Lionfish must be retained in a freezer until a winner is determined in case of any discrepancies in the submission. Upon conclusion of the Mini-Challenge and announcements are made, you may dispose of your lionfish.

Measurement Video (Required):

• Video should contain the fish laid out properly on the measuring tape, clearly showing the measurement in millimeters, the date shown on a phone, tablet or dive computer, and the diver with a piece of paper showing the divers name and registration number. Video should not exceed 30 seconds.
• Submit video to Mini-Challenge #2 – Largest Lionfish Dropbox Folder: https://www.dropbox.com/request/J846fOMfZLnqw7rKBfRF
• Video title must be in this format: Registration#_FirstNameLastName (ex. 162_JaneDoe)

Photo Submission (Optional):

• A photo of the diver and fish laid out properly on the measuring board/tape.
• Photo will not be used to determine the length of the fish. This photo submission will be for use on social media and the FWC Reef Rangers website.

Submit Largest Lionfish Challenge Submission Form and photo via e-mail to Lionfish@MyFWC.com.

All registered divers who harvest a lionfish over 400 mm in length will be rewarded with a customized Reef Rangers 10L dry bag. Only one prize will be awarded to each participant who submits lionfish larger than 400 mm.

Terms and Conditions

FWC reserves the right to deny submission if participant fails to fulfill the requirements for verification as described above. FWC is not liable for any incidences that occur during the lionfish harvesting trips. Participants must harvest lionfish during the Mini-Challenge timeline in order to be eligible for reward. Only the participant who harvests the largest lionfish will receive the top reward. Participants who qualify for the over 400 mm category will only receive one prize regardless the number of lionfish submitted. All final winner decisions will be determined by FWC staff. FWC reserves the right to disqualify any participant if there are any suspicions of a false or edited submission.

Click Here for a printable version of the rules and terms.

Winner: Josh Livingston

Mini-Challenge #1

The first 25 participants to qualify for the Lionfish Challenge will be entered into a drawing to win a YETI Panga Dry Backpack and three winners will be drawn.

Mini-Challenge Raffle Rules:

1. This contest is being conducted by the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation located at P.O. Box 11010, Tallahassee, FL 32302.
2. Winners of the raffle drawing are eligible to receive one of a number of prizes.
3. Current employees of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply for or win any of the Lionfish Challenge raffle prizes.
4. There is no cost to enter to win. To be eligible to win, the participant must complete a Harvest Submission Form and upload a photo of their first 20 lionfish harvested in Florida waters to FWCReefRangers.com.
5. The first 25 participants to submit their qualifying fish will be eligible to win. The mini-challenge raffle will conclude after the first 25 submissions.
6. Participants will receive one raffle entry upon completion of Harvest Submission Form.
7. Three winners will be randomly drawn once 25 participants have submitted their qualifying fish. Drawings will be made at the office of the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Inc., using a computer program designed for random selection. The winner will be notified via email and will have five (5) business days after notification to verify their shipping address. Otherwise it will be offered to the next alternate selected in the drawing.
8. Raffle prizes are awarded to winners in the order they were drawn. Raffle prizes are NOT exchangeable.
9. Participants may choose not to accept their raffle prize. In this instance the raffle prize will be entered back into the prize pool and the participant will have forfeited their entry into the drawing.
10. Void where prohibited by law.
11. The Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reserves the right to use photographs of and quotes from the winner in publications and video presentations. Raffle winners may be showcased on FWCReefRangers.com and Facebook.com/fwcreefrangers.
12. Prizes are taxable and will be reported to the IRS as appropriate. Please check with your tax advisor should you have any questions

Winners

Chris Campbell

Sarah Peirce

Michael Curry