Texas Parks and Wildlife looking for divers for 3 summer expeditions

CLUTE, Texas — Texas Parks and Wildlife is looking for divers to take part in three diving trips to hunt invasive lionfish this upcoming summer.

The trips with the Lionfish Invitational Research Expedition will be in June, August and September. Here are the dates:

• June 23 to June 27
• August 11 to August 15
• September 8 to September 12

Lionfish create problems in the Gulf due to a lack of natural predators and the ability to quickly reproduce, TPW says. The expedition said there are four goals for the trip:

• Conduct research
• Reduce impact of lionfish on reefs and native fish populations
• Assess the effectiveness of diver removal efforts
• Increase awareness of the impact of lionfish

🤿 DIVERS! Join our expeditions to learn about invasive lionfish in the Gulf and help us control them. There are 3 dives...

Posted by Texas Parks and Wildlife on Saturday, December 23, 2023

If you want to apply, here are the eligibility requirements:

• Be at least 21 years old.
• Be able to swim.
• Be at least advanced open water scuba certified or higher. Divers for the trip in August must be at least rescue or divemaster certified.
• Be nitrox certified.
• Have done at least 25 dives in the past 12 months OR provide the total number of dives since becoming a diver.
• Have DAN or dive-specific insurance.

Trip participants will get the opportunity to learn about lionfish and the research being done surrounding them. The trips all depart from Clute, Texas.