Islamorada is the Bonefishing Capital of the US. That makes the story I found by Sue Cocking about diminishing numbers of bonefish around Islamorada even more troubling.
“A lot of places where we used to find them, they’ve left,” Brewer said. “They’re just not around anymore. I lost a lot of days because of that. The ‘sportfishing capital of the world’ is not here as far as bonefish are concerned.”
A study published early this year by University of Miami bonefish researcher Mike Larkin and colleagues found the bonefish stock from Biscayne Bay through Key West is “bordering on an overfished status.” The last bonefish census in the region conducted in the fall of 2010 by UM and the non-profit Bonefish Tarpon Trust found a “substantial decrease” since guides and anglers began the annual count in 2003.
Well… this is not good.
The story goes on to talk about how researchers are going about trying to figure out what is happening so corrective action can be taken. It all starts with Science. An interesting player, beyond the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (who are involved, as you might expect) is Audubon.
An interesting read if you fish there now, or plan to in the future.
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