As anglers, the more we know about gamefish ecology, the better stewards we will be of the coastal environments that sustain the gamefish we pursue. To paraphrase Chico Fernandez - the time has passed when we could go fishing and go home, now all anglers have to be conservationists. We are the main users of coastal environments, and if we want our fisheries to be around for the future, we have to become involved in coastal conservation. If you’re not a member already, join a conservation group. Here are some of the groups that I like:

Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited
The Snook Foundation
Friends of Turneffe Atoll
Patagonia and 1% for the Planet

Kayak Fishing
Thoughts on selecting a kayak for fly fishing.

On my soapbox for a moment:
A key to marine and fish conservation that seems to be missed by many is that a true conservationist is as adamant about responsibility as he/she is about rights. Unfortunately, such a balanced approach has never been common, and is becoming increasingly rare. Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about fishermen’s rights, and not so much about fishermen’s responsibilities. For example, in my area I’m seeing more and more bad behavior – boats running way too close to anglers poling on flats boats, boats running so shallow they dig scars in seagrass beds – while at the same time clamors of ‘I can go where I want’ are increasing. We can be our own worst enemies at times.

Practicing responsible catch and release fishing is a good way for recreational anglers to practice conservation. Research has been done on how best to practice catch and release for many saltwater gamefish, especially in recent years, and there is some very good research ongoing as I write this. Below are links to pdf files summarizing some of this research, and links to web sites with more information. Even if the research isn’t specific to the fish you target, you will generally find good basic practices in most articles.

Bonefish
A link to the pdf of the Bonefish Best Practices for Catch and Release, a new brochure from BTU: page 1, page 2.

Snook
Ron Taylor, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, gives a good summary of catch and release practices, with a focus on his favorite fish. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this file. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it here for free.

General Catch and Release Information
A great deal of research on the effects of catch and release on saltwater gamefish as been done in Australia, with many web sites sharing this information.  A couple years ago I found a site that provided some good summaries. A couple of the summaries are listed here and here, and more information can be found on the web site.  You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this file.

I wrote a short piece on general catch and release practices for Mote Magazine, a quarterly publication of Mote Marine Lab, based in part on the information linked above.

Seasonality in Subtropical Environments
Quiet on the Deck
Tarpon Conservation Tips

Selection of my previous writings (or versions of) that deal with conservation:

Today’s catch may depend on yesterday’s home
It’s the Habitat, Stupid
Anglers Helping Research

Excerpts from my book Fisherman’s Coast:
Seagrass
Mangroves
Salt Marshes
Oyster Bars
Beaches

All material copyright Aaron Adams 2007, 2008, and beyond, unless noted.