More than 30 divers and anglers competed in the Emerald Coast Reef Association’s second annual Haunted Harvest tournament this past weekend, raising over $17,000 for artificial reef construction in the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area.
- The tournament, held Oct. 24-25 at Harbor Tavern on the Destin Harbor, featured four categories: heaviest spiny lobster, heaviest slipper lobster, heaviest red snapper and longest lionfish. The event added a red snapper category this year while continuing to focus on removing invasive lionfish from local waters.
Derek Manning captured first place in both lobster categories, weighing in a 7.5-pound spiny lobster and a 1.4-pound slipper lobster. Caleb Galloway took top honors in the red snapper division with a 27.6-pound catch, while Jocelyn Collins won the lionfish category with a 425-millimeter specimen.
The Emerald Coast Scuba team defended titles from last year’s event in the lobster and lionfish categories but fell short in red snapper. Following their first award presentation, the team announced they would donate their prize money back to ECRA.
- “We are proud to donate the prize money back to the Emerald Coast Reef Association,” Collins said during the awards ceremony. “Their work building and maintaining artificial reefs benefits everyone who loves to fish and dive here, and this is just one way we can give back to a cause that keeps our marine ecosystem thriving and allows events like this to continue.”
Team Zookeeper, a longtime sponsor and participant, traveled from South Florida to compete in the event. Despite challenging sea conditions, many participants made it out to the waters.
“Our tournament is more than just a friendly competition. It’s a way for divers, anglers, and ocean advocates to directly support the Emerald Coast Reef Association’s mission of building and maintaining sustainable artificial reefs,” said Savanna Christy, ECRA president. “Events like this strengthen our community while helping protect and enhance the marine ecosystems we all enjoy. We’re incredibly grateful to our sponsors and participants for making this positive impact possible.”
The tournament also raised awareness about the ecological impact of invasive lionfish. The largest lionfish captured measured 16.73 inches and was caught by the Emerald Coast Scuba team.
ECRA is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to marine ecosystem conservation along the Emerald Coast. Full results and membership information are available at www.ecreef.org.
2025 Winners
Heaviest Spiny Lobster
- 1st: Derek Manning – 7.5 lbs
- 2nd: Caleb Galloway – 5.9 lbs
- 3rd: Frank Merrell – 5.6 lbs
Heaviest Slipper Lobster
- 1st: Derek Manning – 1.4 lbs
- 2nd: Caleb Galloway – 1.3 lbs
- 3rd: Jason Dodd – 1.1 lbs
Heaviest Red Snapper
- 1st: Caleb Galloway – 27.6 lbs
- 2nd: Jason Dodd – 21.9 lbs
- 3rd: Chris Prem – 21.5 lbs
Longest Lionfish
- 1st: Jocelyn Collins – 425 mm
- 2nd: Chris Prem – 424 mm
- 3rd: Mike Norberg – 418 mm
