The Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament May 20-21, 2023, at HarborWalk Village in Destin, FL, is gearing up to tackle a pressing ecological challenge while showcasing the power of sport to make a positive impact. This unique tournament, held along the picturesque shores of the Emerald Coast, focuses on combating the invasive lionfish population in the region’s waters.
Lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific region, have become a significant threat to the delicate balance of marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. With their voracious appetite and rapid reproduction, these invasive species pose a grave danger to native marine life. The Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament aims to address this issue by encouraging divers and fishermen to actively hunt and remove lionfish from the waters.
Participants in the tournament will compete to catch the most lionfish, utilizing their skills in underwater navigation, spearfishing, and conservation. Sponsors provide cash and prizes for multiple categories including most caught, largest and smallest lionfish. The event provides an exciting platform for experienced divers and newcomers alike to contribute to the preservation of the marine environment.
Beyond the ecological significance, the tournament also offers a thrilling experience for both participants and spectators. Divers equipped with their spears dive into the depths, searching for lionfish while showcasing their prowess and bravery. The tournament fosters a sense of camaraderie and shared purpose among the participants, creating a community dedicated to the cause of protecting marine ecosystems.
In addition to the competitive aspect, the Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament promotes education and awareness about the invasive species. Participants and attendees have the opportunity to learn about the impact of lionfish on local marine life and explore sustainable solutions to combat the issue at the free Lionfish Awareness Festival from 10:00-5:00 each day. Sign up to volunteer at the event if you want to join the fun. The week prior to the tournament is dedicated to Lionfish restaurant week where local restaurants practice the “eat ‘um to beat ‘um” philosophy and cook up the tasty fish using a variety of innovative recipes.
The Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament 2023 represents a unique fusion of sport, environmental conservation, and community engagement. By bringing together individuals passionate about marine conservation, this event serves as a powerful catalyst for change and a shining example of how sport can contribute to the preservation of our natural world. Learn more at https://emeraldcoastopen.com.
A Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day festival volunteer sorts lionfish for weighing. (L. Tiu)
Aquaculture is growing faster than any other animal food-production sector. The development of new technologies, stagnation of wild capture fisheries, and the increase in seafood demand are all contributing to a 5.3% increase in aquaculture production within the last two decades (FAO, 2020). While global aquaculture production continues to expand, the U.S. is experiencing a seafood trade deficit of $14 billion. The U.S. is clearly in urgent need of more domestic seafood production.
Aquaculture is a growing industry in Florida and one of the best opportunities for expanding seafood production is in offshore or open-ocean marine aquaculture. Offshore aquaculture production has the potential to help meet the protein requirements for a burgeoning population and provide seafood security. Additionally, it can help support working waterfront communities and even enhance recreational dive tourism and recreational fishing. However, the complexity of offshore production is not fully understood by the public. In fact, there is a small, but vocal, anti-aquaculture activist groups that often uses false or outdated information to undermine public confidence and resists even low-impact or environmentally responsible operations. Identified concerns include that the expansion of marine aquaculture will adversely impact fishing, harm coastal communities, and degrade the oceans for other recreational users.
Proper siting of offshore aquaculture farms can address many of the identified concerns. In response, NOAA scientists have developed a tool, Ocean Reports, that can instantaneously analyze more than 100 ocean datasets to develop maps, graphics, and other details of selected areas in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Users can get detailed information about habitats and species, industries in the area, potential hazards (such as undersea cables or shipwrecks), the economic value of ocean commerce, and other detailed oceanographic information.
Ocean reports has data useful to industry and science, but is user-friendly enough for other stakeholders, including students. Recently, students studying aquaculture at Freeport High School in Freeport, FL used the tool to search for potential offshore aquaculture sites off the coast of Florida. The tool is fun and easy to use, so feel free to visit the website to give it a try. https://www.marinecadastre.gov/oceanreports
Offshore Aquaculture NetpenFreeport High School Students exploring Ocean Reports tool.
Spring break is upon us and this often includes trips to the beach. Encountering dolphins and other marine life in the wild can be a once-in-a lifetime experience. There are a few simple guidelines that you can follow to prevent human/wildlife conflict while promoting a positive and memorable experience. These tips from NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries can serve as a guide to recreating responsibly.
Keep my pets home or on a leash: Before you take your pet on an outdoor adventure, make sure they are permitted to be there, and if they are, keep them on a leash at all times! When pets get too close to wildlife, especially marine mammals, all animals are at risk of harm, stress, and even disease.
Lead by example: What are some ways you can lead by example while enjoying the outdoors? By helping others to become responsible wildlife watchers, we protect both people and animals. Show respect for wildlife and other visitors, speak up about wildlife viewing violations, and choose businesses who recreate responsibly.
Report wildlife that seems sick or abandoned: Plenty of marine animals love to spend time on the beach to rest or eat, just like us! Seeing wildlife on the shore is not always cause for concern, but if you see an animal that appears sick or abandoned, make sure to give it plenty of space and contact your local wildlife authorities. Contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922 in Florida.
Keep snacks to yourself: Sharing is caring, but not when it comes to sharing food with animals! Wildlife are perfectly capable of finding their own food. Feeding wildlife often does more harm than good and is actually illegal for many species, so keep those snacks to yourself!
Lend a hand with trash removal: Each year, billions of pounds of waste enter our ocean. This debris can be ingested by wildlife causing them harm or even death. To do your part try reusing and even refusing plastics. Make sure to properly dispose of your garbage and recycle whenever possible as well pick up any debris you see!
Keep my hands to myself: You might be tempted to pet a seal basking in the sun but getting too close or startling them can evoke aggressive behavior and seriously injure them as well as you. Be sure to stand at a safe distance to get that perfect photo as touching, feeding, or harassing wild animals is often illegal and can ruin both yours and the animals’ day.
Hang back and enjoy the view: Giving wildlife their space is SO important! Getting too close to wildlife exerts the precious energy they rely on for hunting, attracting mates, and raising their young. By hanging back from our wildlife, we can help to keep them healthy and stress-free.
Finally, we encourage the public to show their support for wildlife on social media by taking the pledge and share this information with a friend. https://go.usa.gov/xH385.
The habitats of a barrier island are defined and driven by the plant communities there. Seeds from the mainland must first reach the new island and they can do so using a variety of different methods. Some come by wind, some by water, some by birds and other wildlife. Some of these germinate, some do not. Those that do, do so on a sandy island with little or no relief and must deal with the winds off the Gulf, which has salt spray. Many of these mainland plants cannot tolerate this and never make it. But some can… and do.
The dune fields of panhandle barrier islands are awesome – so reaching over 50 ft. in height. This one is near the Big Sabine hike (notice white PVC markers).
These early plant communities are known as the pioneer community – meaning the earliest settlers. In the process of succession pioneer communities are made of creatures that can tolerate the harshest conditions, the early days of ecosystem development. There are usually few nutrients, extreme climatic conditions, and for the animals, few prey to select from. But these pioneers are adapted to survive in these conditions and over time alter the conditions so that other creatures can move in.
For the barrier islands, grasses seem to be the plants who do best in the early stages of succession. Though small shrubs and trees may reach the island, the high winds and salt spray will not allow growth. There are numerous species of grasses that can live here, the most famous are the sea oats (Uniola paniculata). This grass can be found on the smallest of barrier islands. Their fibrous root system runs beneath the ground sprouting new grasses all over. Their seed heads blow with the wind starting new populations of plants on other locations and the landscape is soon dominated by them. However, there are other species as well. Panic grass (Panicum amarium), salt hay (Spartina patens), and beach elder (Iva imbricata) to name a few. All these grasses can tolerate the wind and salt spray as well as the low nutrient, low rainfall often found on these islands. They also all have fibrous roots systems that not only connect grasses across the land scape but also trap blowing sand – forming dunes.
The primary dune is dominated by salt tolerant grasses like this sea oat. Photo: Rick O’Connor.
The dunes closest to the Gulf are dominated by grass due to the higher winds and salt spray there. These are called the primary dunes and create one of the first habitats on the island for wildlife. The primary dunes vary in height and how far from the Gulf they range but they do form a wind break for portions of the island landward of the Gulf.
Here smaller shrubs and plants like seaside golden (Solidago sempervirens) and seaside rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides) can grow. With less wind their seeds will germinate and survive. What wind is still there forces the plants to grow in a round shape resembling green sheep on a white field, instead of white sheep on a green field. My professor referred to them as “beach sheep”. This area of the barrier island is called the secondary dune and includes other species such as false rosemary (Conradina canescens), square flower (Odontonychia corymbosa), and sandhill milkweed (Asclepias humistrata). Though they cannot tolerate the high winds as grasses do, they do have to tolerate climatic extremes and low rainfall.
Small round shrubs and brown grasses within the swales are characteristic of the secondary dune field.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
These secondary dunes vary in elevation and can become taller than the primary dunes. In the low areas between dunes are areas where freshwater water can collect and form ephemeral ponds. These areas are known as swales and create unique habitats much sought after by some wildlife. More bog like plants grow here such as water dock (Rumex orbiculatus) and marsh pink (Rhexia nashii) but also includes the carnivorous plants like the sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). There are many insects who used these ephemeral ponds and many spiders and sundews to take advantage of this.
Behind the larger secondary dunes, the wind is even less, and the dune wind breaks higher. Here trees can germinate, if they can tolerate the climatic conditions, and grow. Though the species that grow out there are some of the same you find on the mainland, here they grow differently. Barrier island trees tend grow out, not up, to avoid direct contact with wind and salt spray. And, when they do reach the wind the portion of tree directly facing the wind tends to be stunted in growth, giving it the appearance that someone has “combed” the tree back towards the bay – something they call wind sculpting. Trees that seem do well in what they call the tertiary dune include sand live oak (Quercus geminata), pine (Pinus sp.), and magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora). Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) and even cactus like the prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) and the devil’s joint (Opuntia pusilla) can be found growing here.
The top of a pine tree within a tertiary dune.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Tertiary dunes are some of the largest on the island, with elevations reaching 50 feet or more. These provide excellent wind breaks from the Gulf and allow the formation of salt marshes along the bay side shoreline. Marshes are habitats dominated by grass, but these grasses must be able to tolerate periods emersed in salt water, at least at high tide. Close to the dunes the marsh is dominated by dense stands of black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus). In some locations within the needlerush marsh are areas of bare sand known as salt pans. These are low areas within the marsh where water remains when the tide recedes. These small marsh ponds begin to evaporate in the intense sunlight and the salinity increases to a level where it kills off much of the plant life leaving an area of bare sand. These salt pans are used by some wildlife on the islands. Eventually you will reach the waters edge where smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) grows. This marsh grass can tolerate water for longer periods than needlerush and supports both island wildlife and estuarine fisheries.
A finger of a salt marsh on Santa Rosa Island. The water here is saline, particularly during high tide. Photo: Rick O’Connor
As you can imagine, the process of establishing the pioneer community of grasses on a new, small sand bar, to an island filled with dunes and vegetation takes time – years, decades, maybe centuries – but eventually it will reach what we call the climax community and provides a variety of habitats to support wildlife.
In part 3 we will begin to look at how animal species colonize the islands as these habitats form.
First, the invasion seems to be silently spreading. A just a couple of years ago we had very few records, one off individuals that were removed by those reporting. But they have slowly, and quietly, been spreading. A couple of years ago there was a report of a small group of them near Tyndall AFB in Panama City. Dr. Steve Johnson, University of Florida, decided to see if this small group survived the winter, they did. It was confirmed as the first breeding population in the panhandle. Then the one off reports began increasing again.
Photo by: Dr. Steve Johnson
One area in Santa Rosa County was recording numerous individuals. These reports continued over the winter, and it seems they were breeding there as well. In my neck of the woods, Pensacola, I am getting more calls about them. EDDMapS currently list 18 records in the panhandle. This is definitely underreported. Most of those are in the Panama City area. The entire invasion reminds me of the Cuban (Brown) Anole; quietly increasing numbers while we watch and wonder what to do.
Second has to do with that issue… what to do. Managing invasive plants seems to be easier that invasive animals. People seem to be fine with pulling or spraying weeds. But euthanizing animals is another thing. And I get it, I like frogs too. Ending any life is hard to do. This makes managing this species much harder.
One way to look at next steps is to stop the introduction of any more species. We are pretty sure the primary method of introduction is what we call “hitchhiking”. Most of the plants we purchase for our landscaping projects come from large commercial nurseries in south Florida. Here they are grown by the hundreds of thousands, loading on trucks, and brought to our part of the state. Unbeknown to us, other small creatures are hitchhiking on these plants and their containers. Some of these are invasive species like the Cuban (Brown) Anole, and the Cuban Treefrog. At one time, this was not as much of a concern because they would not survive our cold winters. But our winters are not as cold anymore. Hard freezes do occur, and this may still be our best management plan, but with fewer hard freezes breeding populations will be allowed to continue the invasion. And it could be that with higher numbers of Cuban Treefrogs in the area, some will survive these freezes to continue. This has certainly happened with the Cuban (Brown) Anole.
Cuban Anole. Photo credit: Dr. Steve A. Johnson, University of Florida
So, I am not sure. The answer may be no to this one. One thing we can do is help monitor their populations. When we see a Cuban Treefrog report it to EDDMapS or your county extension office. This will give us a better idea of how the invasion is going and whether they are surviving our winters.
How do you know a Cuban Treefrog from our native species. Here are a couple of articles on how to do this.
If you choose to euthanize them, how do you do this humanely?
You can catch them using 3-foot sections of PVC pipe about 1.25” in diameter. These are placed vertically in the ground along the outside wall of a building near an exterior light source (where bugs are attracted). In the morning, check the inside of the pipes. If treefrogs are present, try to identify them. Cuban Treefrogs are the only ones in the panhandle that reach lengths of 4-6 inches. If they are all small, you will need to collect them and identify them using one of the publications listed above.
If you positively identify one, the first step is to confirm it. You can do this by contacting your county extension office. Second, report it to EDDMapS (www.EDDMapS.org). If confirmed, and you choose to euthanize it, the following link will explain how to do this humanely.
This situation is similar to the lionfish invasion we experienced 10 years ago. We know they are here, and we know they can be a serious problem. We are not sure we can eradicate them, but they should be managed. We will see how this goes.
