The 2025 Emerald Coast Open, billed as the world’s largest lionfish tournament, concluded with a total of 13,322 lionfish removed from Gulf waters during the two-day competition held May 16-17 and another 7,180 removed during the pretournament.
- Team Deep Water Mafia 1 dominated the main tournament by capturing 2,038 lionfish, securing first place in the “most caught” category. Teams Reef Madness and Shark Quest rounded out the top three with 1,256 and 1,034 lionfish respectively.
The competition featured multiple categories beyond quantity alone. Team ‘In The Clouds’ captured the largest lionfish at 438 millimeters, narrowly beating All Riled Up’s 435-millimeter specimen. Meanwhile, Team Lookin Back claimed the prize for smallest lionfish at 73 millimeters.
“The Emerald Coast Open continues to exceed all expectations with over 20,500 lionfish removed from our waters,” said Alex Fogg, Natural Resources Chief. “The tournament has evolved into a significant economic driver for our community, with local restaurants, charter boats, and dive shops seeing increased business throughout the event. We’re effectively turning an environmental challenge into an opportunity that benefits both our marine ecosystem and local businesses.”
- The event included a pre-tournament phase that netted 7,180 lionfish, while the main tournament contributed an additional 13,322 to the total count.
La Paz restaurant took top honors (third year in a row) in the Restaurant Week competition, with Bitterroot and Beach Walk Café placing second and third. The week-long culinary event featured nine local restaurants creating unique lionfish dishes from sushi and tacos to corn dogs.
In the crowd participation category, Carole Donaldson won the “Guess the Lionfish” contest with her prediction of 13,300 lionfish for the main tournament, remarkably close to the actual count of 13,322.
The tournament was supported by numerous sponsors and volunteers, including students from the University of Southern Mississippi and Louisiana State University who helped measure and count the more than 13,000 lionfish for research purposes.
The annual event has now removed more than 100,000 lionfish since 2019 and aims to help manage the invasive lionfish population that threatens native species in Gulf waters. With no natural predators in the Gulf, lionfish can devastate local fish populations if left unchecked.
Results from Festival Weekend
Smallest Lionfish (in millimeters)
| Rank | Team | Size (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOOKIN BACK | 73 |
| 2 | TODD’S TEAM | 79 |
| 3 (tie) | IN THE CLOUDS | 80 |
| 3 (tie) | BLUE BUCKET | 80 |
| 5 | ALL RILED UP | 86 |
| 6 | DWM1 | 90 |
| 7 | SMOKEDIVER | 92 |
| 8 | SHARK QUEST | 93 |
| 9 (tie) | ZOOKEEPER SLAYERS | 95 |
| 9 (tie) | OFF THE DEEP END | 95 |
Biggest Lionfish (in millimeters)
| Rank | Team | Size (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IN THE CLOUDS | 438 |
| 2 | ALL RILED UP | 435 |
| 3 | OFF THE DEEP END | 429 |
| 4 | PILOT PLUNDER AND PILLAGE | 424 |
| 5 | FIN REAPERS | 423 |
| 6 | HOOKSHOTT | 421 |
| 7 | DOWN N OUT | 419 |
| 8 | OPTED OUT | 416 |
| 9 (tie) | COVERED IN BLOOD | 414 |
| 9 (tie) | RUM FISH | 414 |
Most Lionfish Caught
| Rank | Team | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DWM1 | 2,038 |
| 2 | REEF MADNESS | 1,256 |
| 3 | SHARK QUEST | 1,034 |
| 4 | SEA MEAT | 1,029 |
| 5 | RUBBER DUCK | 965 |
| 6 | COVERED IN BLOOD | 909 |
| 7 | IN THE CLOUDS | 817 |
| 8 | DWM SPINAL TAP | 695 |
| 9 | ZOOKEEPER SLAYERS | 477 |
| 10 | BLACK FLAG | 457 |
