OK, I usually stick pretty tight to bonefish… this is a bonefishing blog, after all. Still, I just saw this over at This is Fly Daily. I like it. A lot. Beautifully shot and a conservation message. Yeah. That’s pretty much my bag.
Well done.
Conservation
17
Aug 11
Turneffe
Ya know what… the Turneffe Atoll Trust has some real fly fishing cred on their board. Like… A lot (that was two ellipses, if anyone is counting).
One of those guys is Jim Klug of Yellow Dog. Another is Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone. That a group.
They are working hard to keep Turneffe as beautiful a place as it seems to be. A place with bones and permit and tarpon and lots and lots of space for those fish to roam and feed and breed.
This is a bit of what they are up to:
TAT continues to lead the way in instituting a Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve. The process is moving ahead at a rapid pace with half of the required stakeholder meetings completed and a first draft of the Turneffe Atoll Management Plan forthcoming. This past week, the Belize Minister of Fisheries was presented with a proposal to establish the reserve. It was warmly received and it is expected to move on to the Belize Cabinet. (read on)
Check them out.
11
Aug 11
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust
On May 31st Mike Berardi, fishing out of the Belize River Lodge with Pedro as his guide, caught a bonefish that I had caught and tagged on March 19th, the first recapture of a tagged bonefish in Belize.
Tagged bones are beginning to be recaptured. This is a good thing. Recaptures tell us all sorts of things about growth rates and fish movements and from there policies can be developed that really help the fish.
Way to go Bonefish and Tarpon Trust!
Support BTT
03
Aug 11
Bonefish Flat interviews Aaron Adams
The Bonefish Flat recently ran an interview with Aaron Adams… one of my favorite guys. Aaron, of course, is the Director for the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, a fine organization you should all be supporting (yes, I’m looking at YOU… that is… if you don’t already).
You can also read my interview of Aaron here.
Aaron is amazing in that he is a very busy guy, but seems to always make time for questions. He’s super accessible and easy to talk to… just don’t expect him to divulge any secret places!
27
Jul 11
I hate jet skis too
The Port Department this week met with New Providence jet ski operators to outline policies to “deal with the nuisance” their craft cause, with Exuma-based bonefishing guides warning that efforts to establish similar businesses on their island could jeopardise the $13 million earnings they have generated over the last 15 years.
via The Tribune.
Seems some folks in the Bahamas are none too keen on Jet Skis mucking up the bonefishing business. I can’t say I blame them.
I don’t get the point of a jet ski. They are loud, stir up the bottom and generally annoy anyone who isn’t riding one at the time.
Hitler liked Jet Skis… just say’n.
26
Jul 11
The pearl of Aitutaki – Way to go Butch
If Aitutaki were an oyster, the budding bonefishing industry would surely be its pearl.
via The pearl of Aitutaki | PostIndependent.com.
Well, look at that, Butch Leone! A nice little story about Aitutaki that features Butch Leone, who has started a tagging program there in his little piece of the Cook Islands.
Fantastic.
21
Jul 11
BTT Symposium November 11-12
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust continues to be one of my favorite nonprofits. Support them if you can. If you are REALLLLLY into bones and conservation, head to Key Largo in November for the Symposium.
yeah... what he said.
Key Largo, FL: The Fourth International Bonefish and Tarpon Trust Symposium will take place on November 11th and 12th, 2011 at the International Game Fishing Association Hall of Fame in Dania Beach, FL.
Held every third year, this Symposium promises to be the largest and most informative to date. Two full days of presentations on cutting edge scientific research of bonefish, tarpon and permit from fisheries scientists around the world is scheduled, as well as panel discussions, fly casting seminars and tying clinics by some of the world’s noted flats anglers. On the final night an “Evening with the Legends” banquet will be emceed by author and angler Andy Mill, participants include; Joan Wulff, Bob Popovics, Lefty Kreh, Flip Pallot, Chico Fernandez, Sandy Moret, Rick Ruoff, Mark Sosin, Ralph Delph, Steve Huff, Bill Curtis, Stu Apte and George Hommell.
Leading up to and as part of the Symposium, Bonefish and Tarpon Trust will be auctioning multiple guided days of fishing and special one of a kind fishing adventures with expert guides who have donated their time to benefit BTT. For more information on these auctions and to submit your bids please go to www.tarbone.org and click on the the “Symposium Auctions” button.
Space is limited, so be sure to register early. All interested anglers are welcome. For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit www.tarbone.org. We can also be reached at 239-283-4733 or info@tarbone.org.
14
Jul 11
Bahamas 5-0
POLICE across the Bahamas are being called on to stop the illegal netting and selling of bonefish in the Family Islands to protect the country’s multi-million dollar industry.
via Read the whole story at The Tribune.
Got to think it is hard for those Family Island/Out Island police to arrest folks for netting when they are probably related to each other and have grown up together.
Still… it makes good sense to clamp down on this sort of activity.
Aaron. The fish is in the water. That's good.
02
Jul 11
Tag – Mexico
Bonefishing in Cozumel, Mexico. It’s not often that you see those words in the same sentence. Typically, when people talk about fishing for bonefish in Mexico, they mention places on the mainland of the Yucatan Peninsula, like Ascencion Bay, Espiritu Santu Bay. But last week we kicked off the brand new, first ever, bonefish tagging program in Mexico on Cozumel.
Well, that’s pretty cool. You can now tag bones in Cozumel, which sounds like something I’d like… very much.
Support BTT
27
Jun 11
Pipedreams
It doesn’t take long, as you look at Google Earth, to get an idea of how close the Bahamas have come, and will come, to utter ruin.
Empty promises peddled by developer after developer after developer from island to island are visible in empty plot after empty plot. All these roads to nowhere and empty lots represent a small fraction of the efforts to parcel up and sell of the Bahamas. Luckily, there aren’t enough buyers. At least for now.
I hope the next time someone comes to some little local government division there in the Bahamas and promises to make their little bit of paradise into the next South Beach, they look at this post and then go on to look at Google Earth and they decide not to sell.
Can you imagine if all those empty lots actually had houses on them? What if all those houses had people in them? What if all those people needed power and sewage and shopping? Can you imagine if all those broken promises were actually kept? It would utterly destroy the nature of the place, the ecology, the character, the beauty. I hope that it never, ever comes to pass.
(it would probably totally destroy the bonefishing too)
Here’s a glance at Grand Bahama…
GBI
Abaco…
Abaco
Exuma…
Exuma
Eleuthera…
Eleuthera
New Providence…
New Providence
Andros…
Andros
Thank god it is a lot harder to execute than it is to imagine.
