Anglers Urged To Report Tagged Permits
If you catch a tagged permit, chances are it is part of a multi-year statewide study being conducted in Florida to learn more about the movement patterns of fly fishing’s most difficult target. The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is conducting this research with financial support from the March Merkin Permit Tournament and Costa Del Mar.
Anglers who catch tagged permit and report them will receive a free pair of Costa sunglasses. To be eligible for the glasses, anglers must report their recapture data online at bonefishtarpontrust.org and e-mail photos of the fish to info@bonefishtarpontrust.org. The photos should include a shot of the tag in the fish as well as a close-up of the tag so the tag number is readable.
The permit fishery in Florida appears to be in pretty good shape, with diverse options ranging from sight fishing the flats to offshore reefs. This 5-year tagging program is aimed at collecting data on the fishery while it is healthy and managing it based on the information as opposed to implementing regulations if the fishery goes into decline.
This is the first step in the program, and requires volunteer help of anglers who report their catches as well as captains and anglers tagging permit. Data on tag and recapture locations will help estimate movement patterns and define the geographic scale appropriate for management. Length data from tag reports will provide information on the size structure of the permit fishery. Future work will examine effects of catch and release, fishing effort and harvest, spawning, age and growth and the economic value of the fishery. For more information, see bonefishtarpontrust.org.
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