Buz
zBA
it
Tag. No touch backs.
PhoTo: milleR high life PTTs
Fish out
of water
floRida geTs Tough on old
tarPOn regUlatiOns
By COnOR Mihell
A
BOUT THE SAME TIME Tampa Bay’s
Suncoast Tarpon Roundup—the world’s
longest-running tarpon fishing tournament—
announced it would be catch-and-release
only in 2008, rumors of a Florida-wide ban on
lifting tarpon out of the water before release
started to fly on angler chat boards. But the
angry “catch and can’t touch” postings came
55 years late. According to Florida Fish and
Wildlife Research Institute biologist Kathy vested fish must be reported to the state Fish ly in the water or holding it face-first into
Guindon, strict tarpon fishing regulations and Wildlife Commission within five days, the current.
have been in place since 1953. and any unused tags must be reported on an Ocean Kayak pro Chrystal Murray, who
“The rule has always been if you want to lift annual basis. In 2007, Guindon says only 294 has been catching tarpon off the Florida coast
a tarpon out of the water and onto the deck of tarpon ended up on the dinner table. for 17 years, supports the FWC regulations.
your boat, you need to have a tag,” says Guin- Additional research has determined that Murray says there’s no reason to remove tar-
don. “There was recently a public awareness about 14 percent of all tarpon that are caught pon from the water at all, especially younger,
bulletin that brought these regulations to an- will die upon release due to injuries from hu- smaller ones, which are more dramatic fight-
glers’ attention.” man handling or shark predation, says Guin- ers and therefore more impacted by angling.
A $50 tarpon tag allows anglers to remove don. She maintains that the best way to en- Murray says maintaining a healthy stock for
fish from the water. One tag allows for the sure survival is to avoid touching a tarpon’s future generations has much to do with pro-
harvest of one fish or unlimited caught, photo- gills and to give it plenty of time to recover tecting juvenile tarpon.
graphed and released fish, says Guindon. The before release. “While releasing a yearling tarpon last year
permit system was put in place to protect Flor- “We’ve found that fight time is secondary I had an epiphany,” says Murray. “At 45 years
ida’s tarpon population and to help biologists to proper handling and resuscitation,” says old I was holding a little silver treasure of a fish
determine the effect of angling on stocks. Har- Guindon. “This means moving the fish slow- that if luck were on its side, might outlive me.”
By The NumBerS
outfit” he vowed never to use for > Minimum boat length in feet for
By TiM shuFF
tarpon again: 100 entries into Florida’s Professional
> Minimum pound-test line weight
Tarpon Tournament series: 16
Tarpon
stipulated by the Boca Grande > number of color options for a new
Fishing Guides Association for wilderness systems Tarpon kayak: 8
fishing the tarpon hotspot of Boca
> number of pounds that the Tarpon
Grande Pass: 50
120 ultralite weighs less than its
> Approximate weight in pounds of the
> The approximate weight of an
polyethylene counterpart: 15
iGFA all-tackle tarpon record caught
average tarpon catch, in pounds: 50
> largest tarpon ever caught on a fly,
in lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, in > Fly-rod weight recommended for
in pounds: 202
1956 on 30 lb line: 283 mid-size tarpon: 10
> number of years it takes for a
> number of minutes it took kayak > starting bid in dollars of a “recently
tarpon to reach 200 pounds: 70
angler Dave Robinson to bring in a refurbished” 73-inch “stuffed tarpon > Oldest age a tarpon has reached in
130 lb tarpon on 30 lb line, a “light reproduction” on ebay: 450 captivity: 63
4
…
KayaK angler summer/fall 2008
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