11 minute read
TALLYING THE TARPON
BY MIKE CONNER
A survey of nearly 1,000 anglers and guides has revealed how the Atlantic tarpon fishery of today compares to that of the 1970s.
Since tarpon are not what’s for dinner—unless you’re a bull shark—there was, until fairly recently, a dearth of hard data concerning their numbers, spawning and migratory habits, appreciable economic benefit and more. This is often the case with any species of fish not sold commercially for consumption.
Thankfully, the data gaps are steadily being filled thanks to the collaborative efforts of researchers and tarpon guides and anglers who have provided valuable anecdotal observations. A survey of nearly 1,000 anglers and guides conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers has revealed how the tarpon fishery of today compares to that of the 1970s.
The Atlantic tarpon fishery has declined considerably, as much as 80 percent according to some, a sobering assessment that should result in an urgent response, and leverage unwavering support for the development of better conservation and management plans for the iconic Silver King.
What's Behind The Decline?
Survey respondents cited myriad threats to tarpon—poor water quality, habitat loss, increased boat traffic and angling pressure among them. Respondents also support regulations prohibiting harvest (such as catch-and-release only), increased science efforts to understand Atlantic tarpon ecology for conservation solutions, and spatial management such as pole-and-troll zones. Fly fishers seem to be more supportive of increased regulatory oversight than other anglers. Let’s encourage anglers of all persuasions to work together and prioritize conservation efforts for the benefit of the species and the fishery as a whole.
Surveyed anglers are increasingly alarmed about the number of shark encounters that are resulting in lost tarpon in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern US. Over the past five years, guides in South Florida report losing between two and seven tarpon per year to sharks, mainly in passes and channels where they seasonally aggregate.
Getting The Science
Dr. Aaron Adams, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust’s Director of Science and Conservation says that researchers typically take a multilayered approach on conservation issues.
“With the Tarpon Acoustic Tagging Project our goal was to get a definitive picture of what the tarpon’s migration patterns are, and just how repeatable these movements are,” Adams explains. “We learned that it appears there are three sub-populations of tarpon. Two of them tend to mix in South Florida waters during spawning season. One sub-population migrates up the Atlantic coast as far north as the Chesapeake Bay, while another heads up the Florida Gulf coast as far north as the Mississippi Delta. Keep in mind that these sub-populations are the same species of tarpon, but with differing migration routes.”
Adams says that because the acoustic tracking tags last as long as five years (which is much longer than the satellite tags previously used) researchers can better study the seasonal movements of tarpon over multiple years. It is similar to salmon returning to rivers and streams. “We have learned that young tarpon coming out of backcountry haunts join the adult fish on the coastal migrations,” Adams adds. This is simply entrainment, which also occurs with bluefin tuna and also young bonefish that follow mature bonefish to offshore spawning grounds, to know where to go when they are mature.
“Through the isotope (fin clip) study, which lasted three years, we can now confidently tell through tissue analysis if a tarpon is feeding primarily in a river or on the coast,” says Adams. “We can tell if its diet was or is primarily species like menhaden, which derive their energy from plankton, versus a diet of pigfish or blue crabs which get energy from seagrass beds. And the tissue analysis also reveals the portion of the prey that come from freshwater versus marine sources.”
Adams says such data provides BTT researchers and others the leverage needed when time comes to engage with resource caption managers to arrive at better management of tarpon forage species and the habitats that support them.
From The Experts
Sandy Moret, BTT Board Member and owner of Islamorada’s Florida Keys Outfitters, started fly fishing in the Keys in the late 1970s. He is quick to say there has been a significant decline in the tarpon fishery, and especially with migratory adult tarpon.
“I believe the number of migratory tarpon that travel through the Keys has fallen by as much as 80 percent,” says Moret. “Many believe that maybe a third of migratory fish stay in the Keys region year-round, mostly in the backcountry, so you could just say that these fish don’t travel that far.”
According to Moret, the overriding impact on the fish is obvious. “It’s basically the growing weight of humanity that descends on the Keys and other tarpon fisheries statewide. Not just direct angling pressure, but other boat traffic, pleasure boats, jet skis, all of it,” he says. “Years ago, far fewer visitors came to the Keys and other Central and South Florida inshore waters to fish for tarpon, and fewer residents specifically targeted tarpon. In the Keys most folks were diving, fishing offshore waters, or fishing in the Florida Bay backcountry for fish for the table. The tarpon were relatively unpressured. But all of that has changed due to the growth of watersports. Some of the historic backcountry banks in the Lower Keys where masses of spring migration tarpon traveled at one time, and were fished by guides, are now the scene of the ‘sand bar’ crowd who anchor up and party.”
Moret adds: “Sadly, much of this place is a marine sanctuary that is managed like a theme park!”
Captain Rob Fordyce is a Homestead resident who as a 17-year old high school senior at South Dade High School in 1988 won the Master Angler (unguided) division in the esteemed Metropolitan Miami Fishing Tournament (MET). The months-long tournament was hotly competitive and fished by the world’s best anglers and guides both inshore and offshore, and Fordyce was its youngest Master Angler winner ever.
When asked how he could fish on weekdays and still get his schoolwork done, Fordyce chuckled. “I had 70 absences because I was on the water on weekdays, and about a week before graduation school officials said I could not graduate,” he says.
“So my parents showed them the MET final standings and the fact I wasn’t out jacking around somewhere. I was doing something worthwhile! So they let me pass and take part in graduation. Maybe it helped that most of my teachers loved to fish.”
“It was certainly a different world back then,” Fordyce adds. “Fewer anglers, pristine waters and more tarpon basically, and the competition of the MET stoked me to make guiding a career.” Fordyce’s favorite fish is hands-down tarpon, and his tarpon fly tournament resumé is legendary.
He was involved early on in BTT’s Tarpon Acoustic Tagging Project. Though others may have tagged more fish, Fordyce tagged 12 fish over a pretty wide range regionally.
“I fish for tarpon all over South Florida, so I was able to tag fish in Whitewater Bay in the the Everglades, off Cape Sable, on both the oceanside and Florida Bay side of Islamorada, and as far north as Caesar’s Creek at the northern tip of Key Largo,” says Fordyce.
“Since the tagging efforts, BTT has collected data that proves what I and many tarpon guides knew full well all along, that the adult tarpon migration is absolutely repeatable,” he adds. “Like many fish and also wildlife species, tarpon are creatures of habit. They follow the food and seek out ideal water temperatures and come to the habitat that supports the forage.”
In light of BTT’s emphasis on tarpon habitat (for both migratory and resident juvenile fish), Fordyce has strong feelings about the cause and effect of seagrass throughout the Keys fishery and declining numbers of migratory tarpon.
“Seagrass loss across the board—in the backcountry and on the oceanside—has great bearing on the lack of big bonefish, but on the tarpon decline as well,” says Fordyce. “Take Nine Mile Bank for example. That bottom used to be a lush, olive-green carpet of grass. Today that bottom’s either brown or barren in the back and even on the Islamorada downtown flats. The forage, either crustacean or baitfish, declined too. I’m most concerned about the 20- to 50-pound tarpon that are pretty much missing, and that were our bread-and-butter from late-summer until latefall.”
Those fish home in on the shrimp hatches in Florida Bay back toward Flamingo, and Fordyce yearns for the days when you found that activity and fished for feeding tarpon for hours without moving.
When asked which part of the Keys migrating tarpon fishery has held up best, he was quick to say the oceanside. “They are usually harder to feed, but they are there in decent numbers,” he explains. “Florida Bay numbers have seen a tremendous drop. Those tens of thousands of migrating fish that we took for granted are just not there anymore. It’s little groups of 20 to 30 or so fish now. Are they gone, or are they doing something totally different?”
“In closing, I think the monetary value of tarpon has been ignored by fisheries managers for far too long,” Fordyce adds. “And the failure of the South Florida Water Management District to get the water to Florida Bay is inexcusable. The residents who hire guides and buy skiffs and fly and conventional tackle, and the influx of national and international anglers to tarpon fish here is huge economically. To lose the tarpon fishery, especially statewide, would have a devastating impact on many livelihoods. And our way of life.”
Captain Albert Ponzoa, who guides for tarpon out of Marathon, led off by saying that the tarpon appeared so early in 2023 that the ocean migration was over by the end of May, and that this year the timing was more normal but the fish numbers were low until late May.
“I am convinced that the general Keys tarpon decline is a west to-east progression,” Ponzoa says. “The Marquesas was once the place. Ten years later, it was Key West backcountry banks, and of course, Key West Harbor for the chumming and live-bait anglers. There still are fish there, but not anywhere like say, 20 to 30 years ago. Eventually the best fishing was Big Pine to Marathon. Now, it appears that the fly fishing as well as bait fishing is more dependable from Marathon to Islamorada.”
Ponzoa feels that tarpon will always swim the traditional migratory edges, despite other “fun” boat traffic on the increase. Direct tarpon fishing pressure may be more to blame.
“We have to address the possibility that there are just too many tarpon guides and dedicated tarpon anglers fishing the Keys from February to July, which I’m part of,” he says. “Add the fact that bridge fishing for tarpon is creating worsening shark depredation. And when we release a tired flats tarpon, is it still being ‘sharked’ later? What is mysterious to me is where have so many thousands of tarpon gone? Have they actually died? If they’ve moved in mass, is anybody observing them elsewhere? We have a lot of finding out to do.”
Political Pressure
There is no arguing the evidence, and there’s pretty much a consensus among the tarpon fishing community that time is of the essence, and it requires getting resource management on board in order to force political will to reverse this fishery’s decline.
“Anglers are like the close family members of a cancer patient,” said Aaron Adams. “Part of our responsibility is to advocate for best possible treatment of the patient. This means we have to continue to pressure politicians and policy-makers (who are the doctors) to address the issues and adverse impacts on the ecosystems that tarpon call home.”
Mike Conner formerly guided fly and light-tackle anglers from Florida Bay to the Indian River Lagoon, and has written features for numerous outdoor publications. He currently serves as Conservation Editor for Florida Sportsman magazine.
