Coastal Resources, Fishing

Inaugural Lobster and Lionfish tournament supports artificial reef construction in Destin-Fort Walton Beach

The Emerald Coast Reef Association's inaugural Lobster and Lionfish Tournament attracted over 25 participants, despite high seas, raising awareness about invasive lionfish and promoting marine conservation through community involvement.

Jared Williams

The Emerald Coast Reef Association (ECRA) hosted its first Lobster and Lionfish Tournament last weekend, drawing more than 25 participants to The Deck at Destin Brewery. The event, held Oct. 18-19, raised more than $15,000 for artificial reef construction in the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area while promoting marine conservation.

Participants competed in three categories: largest spiny lobsters, slipper lobsters, and lionfish. Despite challenging sea conditions, all categories saw winners.

“Our tournament not only highlights the importance of maintaining healthy marine ecosystems but also brings together our community in a fun and engaging way,” said John Garland, ECRA’s president. “We’re thrilled with the turnout and the positive impact we’re making together. We can’t thank our sponsors enough, we could not have hosted this event without them.”

The Emerald Coast Scuba team dominated the competition, nearly sweeping all categories. Their most impressive catch was a 6.8-pound spiny lobster.

“Our area isn’t known for spiny lobster like other parts of the state. While we don’t have a lot of them, the ones we do have are big,” said Jason Dodd from Team Emerald Coast Scuba. “When I first saw the lobster underwater, I knew we had a winner and it would take teamwork to catch it.”

In the lionfish category, aimed at controlling the invasive species, the largest catch measured 16.14 inches and was also caught by the Emerald Coast Scuba team.

Team Zookeeper, a sponsor of the event, traveled from south Florida to participate in the tournament. While they didn’t bag a winning lobster or lionfish, they managed to bring home dozens of invasive lionfish for dinner!

The Emerald Coast Reef Association is a local non-profit organization focused on marine ecosystem conservation along the Emerald Coast. Through education, community involvement, and sustainable practices, ECRA works to protect and restore ocean health for future generations.

In the past, ECRA has supported artificial reef projects with Destin High School and has worked alongside the Okaloosa Natural Resources Team, which oversees all artificial reef projects in Okaloosa County. Funds raised from the tournament will support the deployment of Prefabricated Modules in the next six months, expected to establish four to five new reef sites.

For full tournament results and membership information including access to a database of private artificial reef numbers, visit www.ecreef.org.

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