2,400 LIONFISH DESTROYED!

Lionfish, an invasive species that is taking over the Gulf Coast around to the Atlantic and throughout the Caribbean waters. They do not have a natural predator here and that has made them very formidable. They can destroy a reef eco system within a few month of inhabiting it by eating all the juvenile fish and the important cleaner species that are responsible for controlling the algae that grows on the coral. We have to manually control their population through spear fishing. The state of Florida has a very active population that thrives on competition and fishing, this is a perfect recipe for Lionfish control. Enter Ocean Strike Team and the Pensacola Lionfish Shootout, this competition aims to be as big as the Emerald Coast Open that is held in Destin Florida every year and in a couple years time, it is very possible. The ECO is earlier in the year whereas the Shootout is in the fall, with the FWC Reef Rangers Challenge right in the middle. There is no shortage of competitions to get divers out to hunt these invaders and if competition is not your thing, well, they are great to spear and eat just for fun. Our team is called Fin Reapers and we head out of Pensacola to try our luck with taking home the trophy, our first drop is in the Navarre 1 Mile reefs but with bad visibility we head back East and to deeper water. How many will Fin Reapers bring to the weigh in?
Ocean Strike Team: oceanstriketeam.org/
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About Active Duty Outdoors:
I started this channel to prove to my son that I could get to 1000 subscribers...check! I am was an Active Duty Air Force member with over 23 years of service and now retired. My career has brought me to some awesome locations that I was able to call home, from the Rocky Mountains to the Swamps of South Georgia and everywhere in between! After retiring we moved to Navarre Florida where I can fish right out my back door...almost. My family and I have a strong passion for the outdoors from hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, to SCUBA diving and spearfishing. Where will we go next?
We crushed 5,000 subscribers!! Thank you to all of you who have clicked the subscribe button, you all are AWESOME!
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[@thang1568]

Thank you guys for pulling the lionfish off the reefs! Cool video.

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you! It is a really fun way to spend a dive. I don’t think I can dive without a pole spear now. Lol

[@user-ok7br8st4q]

It’s good to know divers are trying to helps the reefs by removing these horrible fish!

[@azinwisconsin1]

finally a lionfishing vid that's long, it's literally my asmr.

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thanks!! I agree, the short videos are frustrating.

[@whatsanelwine6513]

I love these videos! I've been looking for a lionfish hunting video for sometime and I'm glad I came across your channel. I wish I could do something like this haha Thank you for your hard work!

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Awesome! Glad you found the channel. I will hopefully be back out soon to hunt a few more.

[@jules6861]

Can’t wait til more restaurants put them on their menus!

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Same!!

[@iamsyn1246]

Great video, i used to go to destin all the time. I never knew lionfish had taken over like this. Your doing amazing work ❤keep on saving our 🪸 reefs and local fishes.

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you. They have really moved in around here. Every dive site is starting to be over ran by them.

[@iamsyn1246]

@@ActiveDutyOutdoors from the videos you posted you can see them everywhere when you dive its super sad 😞

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

@iamsyn1246 it is. We just got back from a dive today and there were so many more.

[@adamheagney4241]

Keep this up bro

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

I will for sure. I just started a new channel called “The Deco Stop” where I’ll post all my diving and Lionfish videos.

[@MrJackmandew]

Watching from southern California and enjoying your video,,

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you for checking it out. What part of Southern California? I lived in Moreno Valley when I was a kid.

[@MrJackmandew]

@@ActiveDutyOutdoors San Fernando valley

[@Dunkskins]

Awesome work, can you actually see the work you are doing having in impact, they produce so many eggs at early stages in life be awesome to see these environments in a few years subbed!

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you. Yes and no, some of the areas we clean up will stay clean for a little while and some we will clean up and a month later it is stacked again. I think the best is to establish market for them and make it a sustainable fishery. Plus, they are fun to hunt.

[@johnbridgwater3346]

I really like the videos. I hope you guys got some marketability from those fish also. Just a note, I also like your food running comments, humorous and educational. I find the background music just a little loud to hear all of your comments. Maybe just a little less music volume. Great stuff regardless.

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy them. I try to keep the music a little lower, hard to find the right balance. I started a new channel just for diving, it’s where I’ll put all my new Lionfish videos on. youtube.com/@thedeco_stop?si=DOUuMxFx1wsW5MSx

[@martykitson3442]

@@ActiveDutyOutdoors just subscribed👍

[@jimwonderboy3390]

I'm glad I ran across this. Zoned out watching the whole thing! Seriously relaxing. I'm not a swimmer and can't even handle snorkeling but I know the excitement you're experiencing down there. I grew up trapping and mushroom hunting and now run some recreational Stone Crab traps out of Fort Myers Beach. I'm jealous! Great job!

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you!! It is very relaxing to me as well. I have a lot of buddies in Oregon that hunt for mushrooms, never got into it myself though.

[@Rivertable]

That's impressive thank you for everything u gyus doing.

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you! It’s pretty fun diving for these things!

[@Marcos-fo1tb]

May God bless you.

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thank you.

[@kegfreak3728]

I'm happy they left the bridge rubble to help build the reef and provide some habitat. How deep is the water though?

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Same! I would have to go back and look at my log but I think it was between 80 and 100 feet.

[@JelMain]

A close season on Lionfish? What genius thought that one up?

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Where did you hear a closed season? There will never be a closed season on them, at least not around the US or the Caribbean.

[@Bob-sd8ns]

👍

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thanks for watching!

[@colthart6336]

how do they taste?

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

They taste really good. Not fishy at all and I like them best in fish tacos.

[@josephlewis8307]

Is that background song them from Borderlands

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

I’m not sure, I will have to check the video edit when I get home. I know I got it from Epidemic Sound but not sure where else it was used.

[@vincentmiceli2554]

I have been to Yap and Palau in the South Pacific and to see a lion fish you really have to look in the crevices. They hide from predators there and they are not as plentiful as in the Bahamas and off the Florida coast. Little devils, I hope you get 10,000 next time

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Same! Thats the way they were in the Red Sea as well. Hard to find there, here they are everywhere!

[@porrasm]

It’s a beautiful fish in its natural habitat but not in the Caribbean. Luckily it’s tasty.

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

They are so good.

[@seatails223]

Hey, I’m a local to south east Florida looking for a commercial spearfishing crew that can provide a consistent supply of lion fish for a restaurant. Comment if you happen to have some information

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

I might know a few crews, let me check with them to see if they already have a wholesaler. Send me an email to [e-mail] and I’ll send you their contact.

[@martykitson3442]

if any sane dive master would certify me for oxygen enhanced I'd love to get a bag of those, I've been on oxygen for a couple of years for my copd so that's unlikely but any white meat fish is always welcome if there was some way to oxygenate a hookah rig I'd sure consider it

[@ActiveDutyOutdoors]

Thanks for watching and subscribing. They are so good to eat. copd, that’s a tough one to dive with for sure. I just started a new channel strictly for diving and will be posted a lot of Lionfish videos there. youtube.com/@thedeco_stop?si=wYlCe6D8RLY37ae4