“Gill nets are all over the island,” says local angler and conservationist Ramon Ortiz. “They’re forbidden in interior waters, but there’s little to no enforcement.”
Gill nets are doing bad things in Puerto Rico. Here’s the story.
Damn shame.
Conservation
16
May 14
The Skink Files – Aragonite mining in Grand Bahama
I think Skink might make the trip from Florida to Grand Bahama to deal with these guys (that’s the link to the full story).
Someone wants to mine aragonite in Grand Bahama. Yes… that Grand Bahama. The Awesome Grand Bahama with all that kick arse fishing and wonderful wildlife. The locals are none too happy.
Omeko Glinton, a professional bonefishing guide at Deep Water Cay for 17 years, added: “This would be one of the most detrimental things anyone could do, not just for the natural habitat, which also includes conch, lobster, bonefish and many more species, but also to the many people who have been using these areas to support them and their families.”
This does not seem like a good place for a mine.
I really, really hope this doesn’t come to pass. Grand Bahama is one of the best bonefish fisheries on the planet. I hope they don’t screw that up.
14
May 14
Bass Professional Shoppe
I am not sure if I’ve ever actually been in a Bass Pro Shop. There are several reasons for this…
- They haven’t really been where I’ve lived.
- I tend to prefer my home shops (Ted Fay Fly Shop and The Fly Shop from my home waters).
- I am not a Bass Pro, nor a Bass Amateurs. I know, intellectually, that they carry more than bass stuff, but they just don’t come to mind when I think of buying, well, anything.
- NASCAR
- Sponsored Anglers and Sponsored Tournaments
Now I have a good reason to actually check out a Bass Pro Shop, one of which, I understand, may be coming in not far from my daughter’s school in San Jose.
The founder of Bass Pro Shop, Johnny Morris, just dropped $100,000 on the largest corporate gift ever received by the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust to help fund efforts to understand the decline in bonefish in the Keys.
Well. Hot damn. Good on ya Johnny Morris.
13
May 14
What if you catch a tagged fish
You are out fishing in Eluthera/Abaco/Grand Bahama/Cuba/Andros and you hook up on a bonefish. After the customary display of the backing, you get land that fish, finding a thin piece of plastic sticking up out of the back of the fish just behind the dorsal fin.
You have recaptured a fish which has previously been caught and tagged by researchers. So… what now?
You have two options.
1) Record length, date, location, clip off the tag and send it all in to the good folks at BTT.
2) The other option, which is preferred, is recording the same information as above, but also the tag number. Then the fish is released with the tag still in. While the odds are slim, it provides the chance that the fish can be recaptured again (it has happened a few times). The collected information is mailed or emailed to BTT.
See? Easy.
Nice bone, tagged and ready to go. Photo by Cameron Miller.
10
May 14
Tarpon Tagging Expedition
This comes via Adam Marton, who I actually met in person down at El Pescador while on my honeymoon. Adam, he loves bonefish and tarpon and he loves Belize as well.
This is an opportunity coming up in August at El Pescador. Dr. Jerry Ault and Stu Apt will be there. I’d love to go too, but that is not in the cards. This sounds pretty awesome, I have to say.
[vimeo clip_id=”93434668″]
[vimeo clip_id=”93434668“]
28
Apr 14
The Skink Files – Resorts World Bimini
Oh that he were real… I think old Skink would be drawn like flies to a manure heap to Resorts World Bimini.
The Bimini Blue Coalition is keeping an eye on them, but at this point that means mostly cataloguing their destruction.
Bimini isn’t a big place, but it is getting a big resort and that resort is stripping out mangroves, dredging the sea floor and basically destroying the things that make the Bahamas so wonderful. You can’t destroy the thing you want to celebrate.
Stop by the Bimini Blue Coalition and give them a like and please, never, ever go to Resorts World Bimini.
A dredge… the bane of the flats angler.
11
Apr 14
So… pretty much, I win
This in the “When I Grow Up” book from my daughter’s class… I’m feeling pretty awesome right now.
- 🙂
07
Mar 14
A box for BTT
The flies from the Fly Swap are in and they look great. There are some really good, fish-catching flies, tied with care.
- Good looking flies there.
We have a box of those flies (4x in most cases) and a beautiful box from Cliff Outdoors which they donated to the cause (these are the boxes I use, by the way). Give Cliff Outdoors a like on Facebook, if you do such things.
- The Cliff Box
It makes sense for the beneficiary of our efforts to be the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. They are the ones who are out there trying to protect the fish we love.
So, we need someone to buy this. I put this up on Facebook and I think the last bid was $130. A steal. I’ll keep this up until Monday, when we’ll take the highest bid (from here or the BOTB Facebook Page) and we’ll arrange for the donation and the shipping of the box.
So… who is going to bid on this beautiful box???
19
Feb 14
Costa supports OCEARCH (and you can too)
My girl doesn’t watch a lot of TV at our place. We just don’t have the time. One show we DVR and watch together is Shark Men, featuring the OCEARCH team as they catch, tag and track sharks. My girl loves sharks and I do too. We are fans of the show, of the work and of the support they get from Costa.
Costa has come out with a limited release t-shirt to help support OCEARCH.
Nice shirt. I think I’ll get me one of those.
“Costa’s support allows us to create video content so that the world can see what happens on expedition. They see it on the Expedition Blog and by following Costa and OCEARCH on Facebook and Twitter. Costa brings our collaborative shark research into everyone’s home and onto their mobile device, in near real time,” says Chris Fischer, OCEARCH Founding Chairman and Expedition Leader. “With the new line of Costa Limited Edition OCEARCH gear they are expanding their support so more work can be done for the ocean.”
