The bill would not interfere with the selling of fish fillets, which encourages to help eliminate the fish in Florida waters.
The bill was introduced last week.
Lionfish are an invasive species and can consume up to 40 juvenile sports fish per day, lay up to 2 million eggs per year and has no natural predators in the Western Hemisphere.
Florida representatives David Jolly, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Curbelo, Ander Crenshaw, and Pedro Pierluisi are co-sponsors.
The Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Ocean Conservancy, Coastal Conservation Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, American Sportfishing Association,International Game Fish Association, Boat U.S., The Billfish Foundation, National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), Conservancy of Southwest Florida, 1,000 Friends of Florida, Surfrider Foundation, Sea Turtle Conservancy, and Oceana support the bill.
