Welcome to The Bonefish Flat

There's a stiff wind in your face as you squint in the sun trying to see what the guide sees. "Bonefish at 12 o'clock about 90 feet, do you see it, mon?" You don't and keep squinting, your hat pulled low to keep the sun out of your eyes. "Bonefish at 11 o'clock 70 feet out. Come on man, do you see it?" As the guide is calmly shifting the skiff into position, this time you spot the fish, "I got, it," you reply.

"OK, Mon, Bonefish 50 feet at 10 o'clock. Cast when you're ready."

Cast when you're ready. And with that you drop your fly, roll out a cast, false cast once, and then...

Welcome to the bonefish flat.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Project Permit: Tag, You're It

The most prized game fish on the flats, or maybe anywhere, for the saltwater fly fisherman, is the permit. Permit are also in trouble. recent efforts to protect permit from net fishing have been rejected by the Florida Wildlife Commission because of "lack of information." This may be a bogus argument, but, to use the parlance of our times, it is what it is.






Fortunately, our friends at Costa sunglasses have teamed up with the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust to begin to gather the information needed to protect our beloved permit.

Project permit has been launched and can be found at http://www.projectpermit.com. The idea is to provide anglers with tagging kits to better understand the habits and patterns of permit. Project Permit will kick off on March 14 in Key West at the March Merkin fishing tournament. But anglers can start requesting their tagging kits now by e-mailing at bonefish@mote.org or by going to the Web site.

Below is the official Press release from Costa.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Costa Partners with the Bonefish Tarpon Trust to Tag Permit throughout Florida

“Project Permit” is First of its Kind in Florida, Will Help Guide Future Conservation Policy



Daytona Beach, Fla. – Mar. 5, 2010 – Permit are often referred to as one of the most elusive game fish in the Atlantic Ocean, captivating salt water flats anglers for years in their quest to catch them. And yet, little is known about this mysterious species. What are their spawning and migration patterns? How healthy is the fish population? What regulations are needed to ensure adequate stock for future generations?

Costa® and the Bonefish Tarpon Trust (BTT), a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific research and policy support to ensure healthy populations of bonefish, tarpon and permit for future generations, have teamed together to launch the first known extensive permit tagging program in Florida. Working with anglers and conservation partners statewide, the group hopes to tag and monitor data of more than 6,000 permit over the next five years, with hopes to expand Caribbean-wide.

“There’s never been a stock assessment of permit in Florida,” said Aaron Adams, president of the Bonefish Tarpon Trust. “The research results we receive from this tagging project will allow scientists to uncover never-seen-before data, and help us form policy recommendations with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission to ensure we protect permit and allow them to thrive in their natural habitat.”

The success of the tagging program relies heavily on angler participation throughout Florida and the Caribbean. Currently, it’s not known whether permit caught in the Florida Keys are from the same or different populations that those caught as far north as Tampa. And if research findings from tarpon and bonefish are any indication, it’s not to be assumed that permit are homebodies: tarpon tagging research has shown migrations as far north as the Chesapeake Bay in the Mid Atlantic, and bonefish tagged in the Florida Keys have been recaptured 150 miles away in The Bahamas – much farther than ever anticipated.

“Anyone who has permit fished before can tell you about the art and skill needed to catch them,” said Al Perkinson, vice president of marketing for Costa. “It’s something we want to make sure future anglers have a chance to try, which is why the data from this tagging program are so important. We want to help form policy that protects and conserves permit for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.”

Costa is supporting the program through a grant to the BTT, and is donating a portion of proceeds of its new sunglass style, Bomba, to the permit tagging project.

All recreational and sport anglers are open to participate in the permit tagging program. The initiative officially kicks off at the March Merkin Permit Tournament in the Florida Keys, March 15 – 18, 2010. There, anglers will be able to pick up tags and learn more about the BTT’s initiatives.

Anglers can also request permit tags by e-mailing the Bonefish Tarpon Trust at bonefish@mote.org, or call 239-283-1622. Learn more about the program at www.projectpermit.com.


About Costa®

As the leading manufacturer of the world’s clearest polarized performance sunglasses, Costa offers superior lens technology, unparalleled fit and durability, and a lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects on all of its products. Still handcrafted today in Florida, Costa creates what has been referred to as the highest quality, best performing sunglasses on the planet for outdoor enthusiasts.


For Costa, conservation is all about sustainable fishing. Many fisheries that should be vibrant and healthy are all but devoid of native fish because they have fallen victim to poor fishing practices, unregulated development, lack of watershed protection or all of the above. Costa works with partners around the world to help increase awareness and influence policy so that both the fish and fishermen of tomorrow will have healthy waters to enjoy. Costa encourages others to help in any way they can.


For more information, contact 1-800-447-3700 or visit the company’s Web site at www.costadelmar.com, or join in the conversation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/costadelmar.com or Twitter @CostaSunglasses.


Media contact

Liza Jones, 864.672.9615 (office), 864.270.0722 (cell)

liza@fullcirclepr.com

2 comments:

  1. J.T.,
    Thank you so much for your support! We're hoping lots of anglers respond to this call and request their tagging kits. We'll keep you posted on the data as it starts to come in later this year.
    Liza

    ReplyDelete