dollar figure that cannot be ignored,” Black said. “Bone
fishing is a conservation-minded activity with little
environmental impact (catch-and-release, non-combustion
propulsion, etc.) and brings millions of dollars into the
economy, locally and federally. Such activities are hard to
find, and this provides the leverage necessary to promote
research and conservation.”
Many locals believe there are more bonefish in the Lower
Keys than the upper part of the fishery, but Black said her
research has yet to confirm this trend.
“We’re not certain if that is true,” she said. “What is
evident is that all areas of the Keys are experiencing some
level of inconsistency in their bonefish populations; thirty
shots one day, six the next. This inconsistency is a mark of
a depressed population. BTT is conducting studies Keys-wide, Biscayne to the Marquesas, to better understand the
population structure and its nature.”
Answers will take time, persistence and patience, attributes
that are not easy to muster.
“Especially in this day and age, it’s natural to desire answers
immediately,” Black said. “The bonefish decline did not
happen in one day and it will take more than one day to sort
it out. All the evidence points to a decline that’s been
happening for at least a decade, with notable shifts in
between. Patience is a major factor in conservation and
science. We don’t want to waste resources by being flippant.
Good research is thorough, timely, objective and cumulative.
Regardless of how tough it may be to work out the kinks,
we’re dedicated to the cause.”
The Symposium, which raised nearly $120,000, ended
with a sold-out banquet Saturday evening. Three BTT
members were honored for their service to conservation.
Ken Wright won the Flats Stewardship Award. Perkinson
won the Lefty Kreh Sportsmanship Award; and Tom
McGuane won the Curt Gowdy Memorial Media Award.
Wright, the former chairman of the Florida Fish & Wildlife
Conservation Commission, led an effort to make tarpon
catch and release, and that legis lation led to the end of
jigging for the big fish in Boca Grande Pass.
“As the rule started to develop, in order to bring mycommissioners along and to understand how important
tarpon fishing is and has been in Florida and west Florida,
in particular, I started reading a lot more about tarpon,”
Wright said. “Randy Wayne Wright, the author, gave me
the Ultimate Tarpon Book. It was a book Randy put
together that was nothing more than newspaper articles,
excerpts from various articles starting from the first
newspaper article about the first tarpon caught on hook
and line all the way through articles by Hemingway and
other famous people. It just created, in my mind, a real
passion for the tarpon and tarpon fishing, and that coupled
with watching the television filming of tarpon, these large
female tarpon being drug around after having been, you
know, flossed and put on display in front of TV cameras
to be released to either die or be eaten by sharks, it just
inflamed a passion for solving that problem.”
Perkinson paid tribute to Kreh, the fly-fishing icon, who
still writes and fishes regularly, even at the age
of 88.
“He’s dedicated to teach ing,” Perkinson said. “And he’s still
going strong.”
McGuane, the noted author and screenwriter, thanked BTT
for its work.
“This is a very deter mined group,” he said. “I’m thrilled to
have your recognition.”
One of the final segments celebrated the film, Passing the
Torch, an ode to conservation from anglers young and old.
“We don’t have the resources we had 50, 60 years ago,”
Stu Apte said. “My good ole days of tarpon fishing have
come and gone long ago. You might not realize it, but
yours are here right now. Yes, they’re different, but they
are all yours. I hope you don’t waste them with negative
thinking. ...You have my best wishes for more and bigger
fishes.”
Lastly, the American Fisheries Society presented Bonefish &
Tarpon Trust with the prestigious Conser vation
Achievement Award for the Fisheries Management Section.
This annual honor recognizes an organization’s outstandingSaturday evening silent auction.A presentation during the Bonefish Science Session.