You made it happen in 2013, but the job is far from over
January 27, 2014 by Save the Tarpon 2 Comments
Back in the spring of 2012, a defiant Gary Ingman proclaimed his Professional Tarpon Tournament Series wouldn't stop the gaffing, the dragging, the snagging and the televised hijacking of Boca Grande Pass – all brought to you by his "controlled chaos" wrap boat spandex rodeo – until "someone tells us to stop." In 2013, you told him enough was enough. In 2013, you told him to stop.
As we look ahead to 2014, we can look back at 2013 as a watershed year that saw our combined efforts produce two landmark regulatory reforms that will, with aggressive enforcement and your continued vigilance, give Florida's most iconic tarpon fishery the kind of fighting chance that once seemed so beyond our reach. But you made it happen.
In 2013, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission listened to your more than 23,000 voices. It responded by unanimously adopting rules that laid the groundwork needed to continue the job of preserving, protecting and growing the "Tarpon Fishing Capital of the World" for us, our children, our children's children and beyond. And you made it happen.
You told the FWC the time had come to put an end to gaff, drag, weigh and dump. In 2013, the seven-member commission heard you. It unanimously adopted a rule making tarpon a catch and release species. And we're going to be in the Pass this spring to make certain this rule is strictly enforced.
You also told the FWC the time had come to outlaw the bottom weighted snatch hooks popularized by the PTTS and promoted as a legitimate fishing lure to its cable TV "audience." In September, the FWC listened. Save the Tarpon made your voices heard that day in distant Pensacola as the commission voted 7-0 to beef up its outdated foul-hooking rules and ban the so-called "tarpon jig" from the waters of Boca Grande Pass. You made it happen. And yes, we'll be there this spring to make certain this rule is strictly enforced.
Your educational efforts also bore fruit in 2013. Your continued support helped us spread the message to those who have since come to understand they were underwriting the potential destruction of a fishery. In 2013, MillerCoors, Yamaha, Costa del Mar, Miller's Ale House and others showed us and the world they truly are responsible corporate citizens. And you made it happen.
While 2013 will rightfully be remembered as the year you made it happen, 2014 will continue to present opportunities and challenges. In 2013, sport fishing enthusiasts across the globe became aware of the issues threatening Boca Grande Pass thanks to your efforts. They made their voices heard. But we all understand we can't collectively afford to declare victory, drop our guard and go back to the era of silent indifference that nearly brought us to the brink.
Yet there are those eager to see a return to the days of "anything goes." As you know, the man who once so defiantly challenged you to make him stop, the man who brought "controlled chaos" to Boca Grande Pass and has signaled his willingness to pay any price to keep it there, has dispatched a small armada of lawyers intent on silencing your voices and reversing the grassroots gains we worked so hard to achieve together in 2013.will rightfully be remembered as the year you made it happen, 2014 will continue to presen challenges.
You stood up for the future of our fishery in Lakeland, in Pensacola and in Tallahassee. But all we've accomplished remains at risk absent the resources we now need to head off efforts by Ingman and others to undo what we've worked so long and so hard to make happen over the course of this past year. While our legal team has been supportive in our defense and committed to our shared cause, the fight to keep your voice from being silenced continues to drag through the courts as we enter 2014. Silence didn't make catch and release happen. Silence didn't ban the bottom weighted snatch hook. Silence didn't end the corporate underwriting. Silence did not, and will not, make it happen. We will not be silenced.
We're grateful to those who have provided so generously of their time, their talents and the resources that have allowed us to stay in the fight and make our voices heard. But despite a continuing string of reversals, the PTTS persists in what has become a transparent bid to shift focus away from the Pass, to thwart our efforts to protect and preserve the fishery, and to return to business as usual. And with every dollar spent, that risk becomes increasingly real. At your urging, we'll soon be establishing (and, yes, it's a cliche we hoped to avoid) a "legal defense fund" that will enable us to aggressively put this matter to rest and turn our full attention back to the job that needs to be done. Also, on Sunday, March 2, 2014, we'll be gathering once again in Boca Grande for the 2nd Annual Save the Tarpon Shindig. Please save the date for Save the Tarpon.
For more information, please don't hesitate to drop us an email at contact@savethetarpon.com or give Jennifer McLaughlin a call at 941-457-0845. It was a great 2013 for us, for you and the future of our fishery. It's not going to be an easy act to follow. But, as 2013 revealed, "easy" isn't in our dictionary. It's 2014. Together, let's keep making it happen.
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Filed Under: Features, News & Updates Tagged With: Catch & Release, Costa del Mar, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FWC, Gary Ingman, Ingman Marine, Joe Mercurio, Miller's Ale House, MillerCoors, Professional Tarpon Tournament Series, PTTS, Save the Tarpon, Tarpon Jigs, Yamaha Motor Company
Bill Bishop says
This is well stated. I agree that 2014 will be the year for enforcement of the new regulations that so many fought to make reality. CCA has now stepped forward promising their support and influence to see that the new laws are strictly and forcefully enforced. The unanimous vote by the FWC commissioners regarding the new catch and release regulations, the banning of the jig as we have known it and the new definition that constitutes intentional snagging telegraphs a clear message that any and all attempts to side step the letter of the law will be met head on.
My educated guess is that these commissioners who spoke out clearly and forcefully won't take being hoodwinked and mocked kindly.
Gary Batey says