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Delong LuresMore than 20,000 invasive lionfish were removed from Florida waters during the Emerald Coast Open, with over $100,000 in cash and prizes awarded to the divers who caught them. That may sound like a huge payout, but it is a small price to pay for removing one of the most destructive invasive fish in the Gulf. During the main two-day tournament alone, 128 divers speared more than 15,000 lionfish, including one team that removed an unbelievable 2,641 fish.Lionfish are especially difficult to control because they rarely take conventional bait and usually must be located and speared one at a time. They consume juvenile reef fish, compete with economically important species such as snapper and grouper, and research has found that a single lionfish can reduce the number of young native fish arriving on a reef by as much as 79%. This tournament was not just about prize money, it was thousands of invasive predators being physically removed from an ecosystem that desperately needs the help.