2025 trip dates:
June 22-26
July 20-24
August 18-22
September 21-25
Our 2025 trips will focus on four objectives:
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Lionfish removal, of course! We started these trips back in 2013 with the intent of removing lionfish from the Sanctuary and assessing local fish populations. Under a federal permit, we continue to spear lionfish, which are measured and weighed, submitted for fin clippings (DNA samples), and then frozen for later dissection and gut content analysis.
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Texas Parks & Wildlife will be conducting various underwater scientific monitoring tasks, including roving fish surveys, lionfish removal, benthic surveys, and water collection for eDNA sampling. Topside initiatives include the collection of fin and tissue samples from lionfish for genetic analysis and ciguatera testing, and the measurement of water quality parameters for each artificial reef site.
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Marissa Nuttall’s Habitat and Connectivity of Lionfish and Natural Predators Project. This will be the 4th year that this joint project (Texas A&M, LSU, U of Florida, U of Mississippi) has been a part of Lionfish Invitational. Using acoustic tags and receivers to track movement patterns of lionfish and other species (including new Predator Tags that react with digestive enzymes, letting us know when a tagged fish has been eaten), trip participants have successfully netted and caught fish to be surgically tagged and released for this project, and we need more!
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Dr. John Majoris’s Regal Damselfish Impact on Native Damselfish study. This Texas A&M Corpus Christi project aims to study the invasive Regal’s impact on the food and habitat, and how it is affecting native damselfish (Sargent Majors, Brown Crowmies, etc.). Regal’s have only been documented in the Gulf Of Mexico for 10 years. We will be assessing the distribution of regal damselfish, collecting live fish for larvae samples, and spearing them under a federal permit
Eligibility Requirements
In order to apply, each diver must meet the following requirements:
- Be at least 21 years of age.
- Be able to swim confidently.
- Hold a valid certification of advanced open water scuba diving or higher.
- Be Nitrox certified.
- Have completed at least 25 dives within the past 12 months or provide the total number of dives since becoming a diver.
- Have DAN or other dive-specific insurance.
Please ensure that you meet all of these requirements before applying.
Participation Benefits
During the 3-day research cruise at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary on board the M/V Fling, participants will have the opportunity to learn about invasive lionfish, research, and field techniques through a REEF lionfish collecting and handling course. They will also build relationships with peers, Flower Garden Banks staff, partners, and divers from the local community. The program includes field activities that raise awareness of invasive lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico and ocean conservation. Participants will gain hands-on experience that can be utilized in future lionfish control efforts throughout the region. Additionally, they will assist with marine sanctuary resource protection efforts.
Provided to All Divers
All divers who participate in the program will receive the following benefits:
• Three days of diving, which includes Nitrox.
• Meals and dorm-style liveaboard accommodations.
• Workshop training on lionfish collecting and handling.
• Access to lionfish collecting/handling and fish survey equipment and materials.
• On-board, hands-on training in data gathering.
• Educational resources and materials from FGBNMS.
In 2023, the Tennessee Aquarium partnered with Lionfish Invitational to send two of their aquarists out to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Kimberly Hurt and Kyle McPheeters made this video to share with their aquarium supporters about their trip exploring the natural setting that the Tennesee Aquarium’s Secret Reef Tanks design is based upon.
The recently expanded Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, located off the coast of Texas and Louisiana, provides a variety of habitats for many fish species. How do fishes use these habitats, and how are fish populations connected across the ecosystem? A team of researchers led by Dr. Jay Rooker at Texas A&M University at Galveston is using sophisticated tracking techniques to investigate these questions.