Panhandle Pilot Program Checkpoints
This information is preliminary. Check back closer to the Lionfish Challenge start date, May 20, 2017, for updates.
Timeline
Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day 2017 (May 20, 2017) through Labor Day (Sept. 4, 2017)
Location
Statewide
How to Participate
All participants who have an active Saltwater Products License and who have commercial lionfish sales within the past year will automatically be included in the commercial category.
Recreational Category
Qualify
Register for the Lionfish Challenge (Registration opens May 8, 2017)
Harvest 25 or more lionfish
·Send photo of harvest to Lionfish@MyFWC.com (first 25 ONLY)
- Include harvester name, date the lionfish were harvested, and signature in the photograph
- First 25 may also be submitted at an FWC approved checkpoint
Submitting more than 25 lionfish
FWC Lionfish Challenge Check-In Form to approved checkpoints (select dive shops, tournaments, and regional offices statewide)
Tails must be in a dry plastic sandwich bag
Label bag with diver name, date, phone number, registration number, and number of tails included
Last day to submit is Sept. 4, 2017
· Checkpoints will retain bags for verification by FWC staff
Commercial Category
Register for the Lionfish Challenge (Registration opens May 8, 2017)
Harvest and sell at least 25 pounds (or 25 fish if a Marine Life Endorsement harvester)
Submit a photo or copy of your commercial trip tickets dated May 20-Sept. 4, 2017, to Lionfish@MyFWC.com (photo must include harvester name, date harvested, amount sold and your signature in photo)
Last day to submit is Sept. 4, 2017
All participants who have an active Saltwater Products License and who have commercial lionfish sales will automatically be included in the commercial category.
Rewards
All qualified recreational and commercial participants
Commemorative coin
T-shirt
Featured in the FWC Lionfish Hall of Fame on the MyFWC.com website
Spiny lobster one per person, per day in addition to daily bag limit during 2017 sport season only (July 26-27, 2017) - if qualified before relevant harvest opportunity starts
Lionfish King or Queen - Recreational
Most lionfish checked in (individual only)
Lionfish King/Queen trophy awarded Sept. 10 at the Lionfish Safari in St. Petersburg
$500 gift card for dive tank refills
Feature article in FWC's January 2018 Saltwater Regulations publication
Featured prominently in the FWC Lionfish Hall of Fame on the MyFWC.com website
Commercial Champion
Trophy
Recognized at the Sept. 10 at the Lionfish Safari in St. Petersburg
Featured in FWC's commercial saltwater regulations publication
Panhandle Pilot Program
Timeline
This program ends May 19, 2017 (Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day 2016-2017)
Location
Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties
How to Qualify (Watch a video on how to submit lionfish tails)
Harvest 100 or more lionfish
Bring tails to checkpoints in a plastic bag marked with name, date phone number (select dive shops and regional offices)
Print and fill out the FWC Lionfish Challenge Check-In Form or fill out form at checkpoint
Resource-based Incentives (until all tags claimed)
For each 100 lionfish harvested, receive one tag to take either a legal-sized red grouper or a legal-sized cobia over bag limit from state waters
100 red grouper tags available
30 cobia tags available
Tags expire May 19, 2017
Artificial reef naming
The first 10 persons or groups to harvest 500 or more lionfish will have an artificial reef named after them
Please check businesses for hours of operation
If you are a dive shop and would like to be a checkpoint or if you are a diver in need of additional assistance in locating a checkpoint, please call 850-487-0554..
(Watch a video on how to submit lionfish tails)
Click here for a pdf
County / Checkpoint name / Address
Bay / Diver's Den - Panama City Beach / 3120 Thomas Dr., Panama City Beach
Bay / Panama City Diving / 5512 Thomas Dr., Panama City Beach
Escambia / Dive Pros / 7203 W. Highway 98, Pensacola
Escambia / Escambia County DMR / 3363 W. Park Place, Pensacola
Franklin / FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory - Panacea / 3618 Coastal Hwy 98, St. Theresa
Gulf / Daly's Watersports / 317 Monument Ave., Port St. Joe
Okaloosa / Discovery Dive World / 92 S. John Sims Parkway, Valparaiso
Santa Rosa / Bay Breeze Dive Center / 49 Gulf Breeze Pkwy, Gulf Breeze
Wakulla / Wakulla Diving Center / 2784 Coastal Hwy, Crawfordville
Walton / South Walton Artificial Reef Association / 26 Logan Lane, Suite G, Santa Rosa Beach
2016 Lionfish Challenge
The Statewide Lionfish Challenge started on Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day (May 14, 2016) and ended Sept. 30.
