Lionfish Hunting: Best Locations

Good news for all you hunters but bad news for the environment: lionfish are spreading everywhere in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean. Want to find the best spot to catch them? These lionfish hunting locations need your help to remove the invasive species!

South Florida is our favorite place to catch lionfish!

This article is part of our continual series, Lionfish Hunting: Everything You Need to Know. Follow along as we take you through every step on how to start hunting this invasive species with confidence!

New to the Lionfish Hunting Scene?

If you’ve stumbled upon this article and you’re a bit confused, here’s a few articles we recommend you check out first:

– 18 Facts You Should Know About Lionfish

– Your Complete Guide to Hunting Lionfish

– The Gear You Need to Hunt Lionfish

– 8 Reasons Why You Should Start Hunting Lionfish

Today, you’ll get a great idea on the best locations you can visit for successful lionfish hunting. After reading, be quick to get there – our oceans are literally depending on it!

Discovered in the wrong waters back in 1985 at Barracuda Reef in Dania Beach, Florida, the spread of lionfish is nothing like we could have ever imagined. Just see for yourself via the USGS:

This graphic was originally published by the United States Geological Survey.

Bonkers, isn’t it? In just a few short years, lionfish have literally expanded across an entire ocean – decimating coral reefs and native fish populations every step of the way.

It’s a bittersweet feeling. Lots of hunting opportunities but loads of devastation.

Lionfish Hunting in Florida

Oh, Florida. Our current home, and unfortunately, the likely original offender for releasing the invasive species to our environment. What better place to start hunting lionfish than the Sunshine State, though?

lionfish underwater on pole spear — Speared two in one on the Mercedes ShipWreck in Fort Lauderdale.

South Florida – Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach

By itself, Fort Lauderdale is a spectacular destination to go diving – and a great spot for hunting lionfish too.

Find a shop in the area to help you find the best lionfish hunting locations. In fact, most shops between Miami and Palm Beach should have a wealth of knowledge on where these spots are.

Additionally, be sure to check out dive sites in Jupiter, Riviera Beach, Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Pompano Beach. The diving in South Florida is fantastic – you’re sure to have more than enough options.

PRO TIP: as locals, our favorite sites to find lionfish are deep wrecks (70+ feet of water) or the third tier of reef such as Hammerhead Reef. Just see for yourself:

The Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are a lionfish hunter’s dream. Take a boat anywhere along the 100+ mile stretch of islands and find a seemingly infinite amount of coral reef and ship wrecks that lionfish love to call home.

Key Largo is a bit oversaturated with divers and dive shops so the reefs and wrecks there generally stay clean of lionfish. If you head further south to Islamorada, the dive shops there will take you to some more remote coral reefs where you’ll discover dozens of lionfish hanging out amongst the spur and groove formations.

woman on boat with lionfish — Laura got these two monsters down in the Florida Keys.

Florida’s Panhandle

Generally speaking: more divers = more hunters = less lionfish. A good thing, truly. However when it comes to the Florida’s Panhandle and the Gulf of Mexico, boatloads of scuba divers aren’t necessarily around all the time.

The visibility is suspect, the water can be cold, and there’s no natural coral reef. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean scuba diving and hunting lionfish is off the table. Actually, it’s quite the contrary.

You’ll find artificial reefs off the coast of Pensacola, Panama City, and Destin overrun with lionfish. These are the types of dives where you can fill multiple lionfish containers on one dive. A hunting spree, if you will.

Regulations on Lionfish in Florida and the US

Honestly, not much. Outside of any MPAs (Marine Protected Areas, typically found in the Florida Keys), lionfish are open season in Florida and the US. Also, you can shoot them either with a pole spear or speargun. Whichever you fancy more.

cooler full of lionfish — Spear as many as you’d like!

Lionfish Hunting in The Bahamas

Again, lionfish are invading the beautiful coral reefs in the Bahamas and agencies are implementing removal programs regularly. Be apart of the solution and plan your next dive trip to The Bahamas – I’m sure they could use the help!

Additionally, rules and regulations on harvesting marine life is a bit different. Last time we checked, you can’t use a speargun, and you can’t spear anything while scuba diving. It’s all pole spear and all freediving.

Although, we’re not entirely sure how this effects lionfish hunting. Just be sure to check with your boat charter before harvesting any lionfish from the depths in the Bahamas!

lionfish lined up on the ground with a pole spear — Spearfishing regulations are different in the Bahamas, so be sure to check with a local shop.

Lionfish Hunting in Mexico

Cozumel, Cancún, and Tulum. The Yucatán Peninsula is a diving hotspot and rightfully so. The region sits along the MesoAmerican Reef – the second largest barrier reef in the world.

As beautiful as it is, the coral reef provides an immense amount of habitat for lionfish. Linking up with a dive shop in Cozumel is the best way you can help solve the problem!

Lionfish Hunting in Central America

Continue south from Mexico and you’ll hit Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua. All of which are facing similar threats from lionfish.

To find removal programs:

Belize’s EcoMar is making huge differences in their local community.
Roatan and Utila, two popular diving destinations in Honduras, are lionfish hotspots
Local dive shops in Nicaragua run lionfish removal programs to make positive impacts on their coral reefs.

dive shop amigos del mar in belize — Dive shops in Central America will gladly bring you to take care of their lionfish problem.

Lionfish Hunting in The Caribbean

Honestly, we’re not entirely sure where to start on this one. Let’s just sum it up: lionfish are present in every Caribbean island. No matter which you end up on, you’ll find a chance to go lionfish hunting somewhere.

In fact, many locals have taken up lionfish hunting as alternative means to provide food for friends, family, and even local restaurants.

POSSIBLE LIONFISH HUNTING DESTINATIONS IN THE CARIBBEAN: Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.

Lionfish Hunting in South America

This is a new phenomenon: lionfish found as far as Colombia, Venezuela, and even Brazil! Gasp!

The invasion just keeps spreading farther. Although hunting programs may be new in these countries (or even nonexistent) it’s worthwhile to check out some dive sites on the northern Caribbean coast to see what you can do.

In Colombia, diving destinations such as Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Santa Marta are all a good start.

santa marta colombia beaches — Beaches in Colombia need your help removing lionfish from nearby coral reefs.

Lionfish Hunting Locations: Final Thoughts

Let’s put it simply: if you’re diving in the Western Atlantic, Bahamas, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, or the northern coast of South America, chances are you’ll be encountering lionfish.

Now, whether or not you’ll find a lot of them (or very few) is entirely dependent on your dive site selection – a topic we’ll cover in our next post of our Hunting Lionfish series.

Lionfish Hunting: Best Locations