Florida Lionfish Challenge Sets a 2026 Record

The 2026 totals FWC reported

36,187 lionfish removed.
533 registered participants.
1,468 dive trips.
More than 5,000 additional lionfish compared with the 2025 challenge.
May 22 through September 14, 2026, the dates on FWC's challenge page. The October 19 release says the season has ended.

Six champions, from the Keys to Pensacola

FWC's October 19, 2026 release, "FWC Lionfish Challenge sets a new standard," calls the year the highest participation and the highest removal total since the program began. The agency expanded the awards to six titles: Lionfish King, Lionfish Queen, Commercial Champion, Junior Champion, Veteran Champion, and Top Checkpoint.

Lionfish King: Hunter Ledbetter of Monroe County, 1,541 lionfish.
Lionfish Queen: Helen Rodney of Broward County, 1,488 lionfish.
Commercial Champion: David Garrett of Volusia County, 1,136 pounds of lionfish.
Junior Champion: Meagan Huffman of Texas, 185 lionfish.
Veteran Champion: Ledbetter, U.S. Marine Corps, who also held the King title.
Top Checkpoint: Dive Pros in Pensacola, more than 5,000 lionfish tails accepted.

The commercial winner is in pounds. The recreational winners are in fish. Those are different scoreboards, and FWC printed them that way. The spread of the list is the other point: Monroe, Broward, Volusia, a junior diver from Texas, and a checkpoint in Pensacola. The work was a season of trips, checked in at shops across the state.

FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said the removals help reduce pressure on native marine species and protect the biodiversity of Florida waters. Marine Fisheries Management Director Jessica McCawley credited recreational divers and commercial harvesters for the same result.

A season of trips, not one giant fish

Most fishing stories stop at one catch. This one is the opposite. FWC built a free statewide challenge, with checkpoints, and paid the effort out in tiers. The challenge page lists prizes that start with a shirt and a coin at 25 lionfish, or 50 pounds on the commercial side, and climb through gear as the count rises, up to a camera package at the top recreational and commercial tiers. Giveaway drawings ran in June, July, August, and September for harvesters who had reached the first tier.

The 2026 coin had one extra use that is already in the past. FWC said a harvester who reached the first tier and carried that year's coin could keep one extra spiny lobster a day during the 2026 sport season, July 29 and 30. Coins from earlier years did not count. That sport season is over. The next lobster rule is the one on the FWC page for the next opening.

Lionfish have venomous spines. This is a report of a finished FWC program. It is a story for people who already dive with the training and the gear the program expects. Registration, the tail check at a checkpoint, and the photo rules live on the FWC challenge page and at Reef Rangers. A first saltwater day on the sand is a different trip. That one is the first-time surf fishing guide.

The 2026 season is closed

FWC's challenge page still shows the 2026 timeline, May 22 through September 14, and it also still tells people to register for the 2024 challenge. That older sentence is on the page. The October 19 news release is the one that says the 2026 competition has ended. The next signup is whatever FWC posts at Reef Rangers. A saved screenshot of this year's prize tiers is the wrong instruction for next summer.

Taking lionfish is taking a saltwater species. The no-cost shoreline license covers fishing from land or from a structure attached to land, and FWC says it is not valid when the method is swimming or diving. A diver uses the regular saltwater license unless an exemption already covers that person. Fees, the shoreline limits, and the free saltwater days are on the Florida fishing license guide. A license does not set the size or the bag. Those stay on the species page.

FWC's October 19 release 2026 challenge page

The fishing pages this record points to

The challenge sits inside a much larger Florida fishing map. Florida fishing is the front door. From there, the paths split.

A beach rod, a sand spike, and a cast just past the break: the first-time surf fishing guide.
A pier with both feet dry: fishing piers.
A boat and a crew: deep-sea fishing charters.
A date on the calendar: saltwater tournaments and freshwater tournaments.
When to be on the water: tides and solunar times.
A mask in a marked spring, which is a calm-water day and a different skill from a lionfish dive: first-time snorkeling and snorkeling and scuba.
What to do with a legal catch in the kitchen: Florida fish and seafood recipes. Lionfish handling stays on the FWC page.
Sharks are a separate permit and a separate page: Florida sharks.

Each of those pages was already on this site. The lionfish record is the news. The guides are where a reader goes next, whether the next trip is a dive checkout or a first afternoon in the surf.

Questions

How many lionfish did the 2026 challenge remove?

FWC's October 19, 2026 release says 533 registered participants removed 36,187 lionfish over 1,468 dive trips. That is more than 5,000 lionfish above the 2025 challenge, and FWC called it the highest participation and removal total since the program began.

Who won the 2026 Lionfish Challenge?

FWC named six champions. Hunter Ledbetter of Monroe County was Lionfish King with 1,541 lionfish and also the veteran champion. Helen Rodney of Broward County was Lionfish Queen with 1,488. David Garrett of Volusia County was the commercial champion with 1,136 pounds. Meagan Huffman of Texas was the junior champion with 185 lionfish. Dive Pros in Pensacola was the top checkpoint, with more than 5,000 tails accepted.

When did the 2026 challenge run?

FWC's challenge page lists the 2026 timeline as May 22 through September 14. The October 19 release says that season has ended. The same page still shows an older 2024 registration note, so the next season's signup is the one FWC posts on Reef Rangers.

Does a shoreline fishing license cover lionfish diving?

The no-cost shoreline license is for fishing from land or from a structure attached to land. FWC says it is not valid for taking fish by swimming or diving. A diver removing lionfish is taking a saltwater species, so the regular saltwater license page is the check, along with any exemption that already applies. The Florida fishing license guide walks through the fees.

Where should a new Florida angler start?

Start with the Florida fishing page, then the license guide. A first beach trip is the surf-fishing guide: a sand spike, a cast past the break, and a tape measure. Piers, deep-sea charters, saltwater and freshwater tournament lists, tides, and solunar times are the other doors. Snorkeling in a marked spring is a different day from a lionfish dive.

Is this a how-to for handling lionfish?

Lionfish have venomous spines. This story reports FWC's record and the winners. Registration, checkpoints, and tail verification stay on the FWC challenge page and on Reef Rangers. A new diver follows that program's current instructions before getting in the water.

Sources

A listing on this page is not an endorsement.