From BTT:
(Key Largo, Fla.) Project Permit, the permit tagging research initiative led by Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and Costa™ Sunglasses, is expanding into the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Currently in its second year, Project Permit began as a research study to tag and monitor the permit fish population in Florida and the Caribbean.
Permit are often referred to as one of the most elusive game fish of the salt water flats, inspiring anglers worldwide in a quest to catch them. And yet, little is known about the mysterious species. Scientists and regulators are interested to learn the permit spawning and migration patterns as well as the overall health of the fish population. The collected data will help inform permit regulations and policies, to ensure adequate stock for future sport fishing generations to enjoy.
“Far too often we wait until a fishery is in trouble before we collect the information necessary to responsibly manage a fishery,” said Dr. Aaron Adams, director of operations for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. “By expanding Project Permit into Mexico, we’ll gain valuable insight to the permit there – and that data will ultimately benefit the anglers who travel to the Yucatan Peninsula to fish, the guides who work there, their families and the communities that depend on the fishery.”
Guide training on how to tag a permit is already underway, as the program spreads across the Yucatan region. The program depends on recreational anglers to catch and tag permit over the next several years in Florida, the Caribbean and now Mexico. A brief video demonstrating how to tag a permit can be seen online at www.projectpermit.com.
“Permit are called rock stars of the flats, and catching one has defined many an angler,” said Al Perkinson, vice president of marketing for Costa. “But there’s still so much we don’t know. If permit habitats are lost because of encroaching development or other factors, we need to know that now, rather than wait until an entire fishery is gone. Project Permit will help gather scientific data we can use to make sound decisions to protect permit environments now, and so future generations can enjoy.”
Professional guides and recreational anglers interested in participating in the Project Permit tagging program can request free tag kits by calling (239-283-4733) or emailing [email protected]. Instructions on how to tag the permit will be included in the kits, and can also be found at www.projectpermit.com.
About Bonefish & Tarpon Trust
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) is a non-profit, science-based, conservation organization dedicated to ensuring that bonefish, tarpon, and permit populations, and the fisheries they support, remain healthy, and helping to restore the fisheries that have declined. BTT accomplishes this mission by funding conservation-focused research, working with local, national, and regional resource management agencies to improve regulations to protect these fisheries, and funding and conducting education of anglers and the public. For more information visit their web site tarbone.org, reach them by email at [email protected] , or by phone 239-283-4733.
About Costa™
Still handcrafted today in Florida, Costa creates polarized 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. Join the conversation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/costadelmar.com, on Twitter @CostaSunglasses, or on The Watery Rave blog.
