FORT PIERCE — Four teams, with the full complement of four divers and three solo divers, entered this year’s Safari, which offered fair weather, some rain and then a beautiful Sunday. A crowd of over 300 attended the two-day event, which featured a Kids Art Contest, where all kids won, and a Chef’s Challenge, won by Sailfish Brewery.
Half of the lionfish brought in were over six-inches. This differs from last year when most of the fish were larger than six-inches. Scientists from Harbor Branch were on-hand checking the fish for lead and stomach content, as well as DNA.
Over-all, the weather held for an awesome event, where the public got up close and personal with hundreds of lionfish, learning how to hold them, clean them, and eat them. And eat them they did!
Don Voss, tournament organizer remarked, “The most satisfying part of putting on this Safari is the overwhelming acceptance there is for this fine sustainable seafood product. We need to push this as a local catch, which would allow other species to recover from over-fishing. Many thanks to One Florida Foundation, Bryan Welling, Leroy Creswell and the other members of the Safari team for their hard work and most successful event.”
Next year’s 5th annual Treasure Coast Lionfish Safari is slated for June 9 to 11, 2017.
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