(NOTE: Tarpon are a sport fish, they are not commonly eaten.)
(Ft. Myers, Fla. News-Press)
Tarpon fishing has
huge impact
Written by
kevin lollar
klollar@news-press.com
1:10 A.M. — When New York City
sportsman W.H. Wood caught the first
tarpon on rod and reel March 25, 1885, in
Tarpon Bay, no one could have imagined
how the fish known as the silver king would
affect Southwest Florida's economy.
According to a $15,000 study
commissioned by the Everglades
Foundation and released Monday, tarpon
fishing in the Charlotte Harbor system,
which includes Pine Island Sound and the
Caloosahatchee River, has an annual
economic impact of $108.6 million.
"The only way that number surprises me is
I would have thought it would have been
markedly more, though that is a sizeable
sum," said Sanibel author Randy Wayne
White, co-editor of "The Ultimate Tarpon
Book" and a former fishing guide. "I
specialized in fly fishing for tarpon, and it's
such a gratifying fish - the jumps, the
speed, the power. It has a kind of
prehistoric energy, and when you're
fighting one, you're connected to that
energy."
By comparison with the $108.6-million
economic impact of tarpon fishing, Lee
County's artificial reefs had an economic
impact in 2009 of $104.2 million, and
spring training in the county has an annual
economic impact of $47 million.
The Charlotte Harbor system is considered
the tarpon capital of the world, but, until
now, no one had calculated the economic
importance of tarpon fishing on the area.
For the study, independent fisheries
consultant Tony Fedler of Gainesville
contacted tarpon fishermen and non-
tarpon fishermen from Lee, Collier,
Charlotte and Sarasota counties.
The anglers answered questions about how
many days they fished in salt water from
July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010, how many
days they targeted tarpon and how much
they spent on fishing-related categories
such as bait, charter fees, fuel, fishing
gear, food and lodging.
"The results were very surprising," Fedler
said. "I knew tarpon fishing in that region is
extensive. You have professional
tournaments; you see it on fishing shows.
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But I had no idea of the extent of tarpon
fishing until I did the survey.
"What's interesting is it's that much from
surveying only local folks. It doesn't account
for people coming from other parts of
Florida or from out of the state."
If the study had included tarpon fishermen
from outside the four-county area, Fedler
said, the totals would have been 33- to
50-percent higher.
Among the study's findings:
- There were 67,937 saltwater fishermen
in the study area; these fishermen
averaged 39.3 fishing days.
- There were 29,845 tarpon fishermen in
the study area; these fishermen averaged
10 days targeting tarpon in the study area.
- Tarpon fishermen spent an average of
$2,362 during the year fishing in the study
area.
- Tarpon fishing supports 1,094 jobs in
the study area.
"These numbers give us more justification
for supporting the research we're trying to
do," said Aaron Adams, director of
operations for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
"Historically, fisheries management has
been focused on fish that have commercial
value. More and more, it's becoming
evident that recreational fisheries are as
valuable as or more valuable than
commercial fisheries.
"Unfortunately, our knowledge based on
recreational species like tarpon, bonefish
and permit is extremely poor."
Having a dollar value for tarpon fishing
could prompt resource managers to
protect tarpon habitat, including tarpon
nursery grounds such as creeks and
mangrove swamps.
Preserving habitat for tarpon, in turn,
would benefit other species.
"The take-home message is that there are
a lot of expenditures on tarpon fishing in
that region," Fedler said. "When you have
places where the habitat is significantly
altered, you have a decline in water quality
and the quality of the fishery and the
amount of money people spend to try to
catch those fish.
"The objective of the study was to generate
this kind of information. Hopefully, it's
significant enough to get people's attention
so they consider the environment and
water quality more than they have in the
past."
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