SUSTAINABILITY: CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES - 3.2.1 - Aaron Adams

Title: Guidelines for establishing and maintaining catch and release marine recreational fisheries Speaker: Aaron Adams Abstract: Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT), a US-based, non-profit, science-based conservation organization, has been conducting research on and been active in conservation of catch and release (C&R) flats fisheries in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and southeastern coast of North America since 1998. The flats fisheries of this region are comprised of bonefish (Albula vulpes), Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), permit (Trachinotus falcatus), and common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), support an economically valuable recreational fishery that is C&R in many locations throughout its geographic range. Over this 27 years, BTT has developed a template for approaching research and conservation of these fisheries that previously received little scientific and management attention. The approach begins by determining the status of knowledge (scientific and local ecological knowledge) for target species and ecosystems, conservation threats, management capacity and gaps. The resulting matrix is used to prioritize research, advocacy, and education efforts. Subsequent collaborative efforts address topics including species and location suitability for a C&R fishery, habitat health, water quality, fishery status, fishery capacity, socioeconomics, cultural factors, enforcement and compliance, and education. The challenges BTT has faced with established fisheries are magnified for new fisheries that are being established because, often, C&R fisheries are perceived as economically valuable, automatically self-sustaining, with low environmental impact, which promotes investment in the fishery without necessary information on fishery sustainability. This can lead to fisheries that are not sustainable due to low post-release mortality, overfishing, loss of critical habitats. In locations with limited resources, a framework is needed to maximize these resources to provide sufficient information for fisheries management and evaluation.