Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited is asking for help in an attempt to establish stronger protection for tarpon throughout their range. As you know, tarpon are migratory fish, so if their numbers are damaged in one place, that damage affects everyone who wants to fish for them. At this time, Louisiana basically lets anyone do whatever they want with tarpon. They can take as many as they want any way they want from what I understand.

Below is a link to a page titled News and Current Events on the Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited website. At the bottom of that page is a link that leads to a petition asking for concerned fishermen's signatures to strengthen the BTU's hand when discussing this issue with fishery managers, so (in BTU's words) when we speak with fisheries managers we can show them how many anglers care about this issue.

Beneath the link below is the text copied and pasted from the page mentioned above. It gives the reasons and reasoning for the changes sought by Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited for the protection of tarpon across the Gulf of Mexico. If you can find it in your heart to do so, please sign the petition and if possible join Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited. The larger the membership of this organization, the more clout we have. I joined today after Billy e-mailed about this.

The link to the petition is right at the bottom of the page, once you've followed this link, in the sentence that follows: Sign on to the BTU petition so when we speak with fisheries managers we can show them how many anglers care about this issue..

http://www.tarbone.org/news_display.cfm?newsid=95

BTU calls for Improved Tarpon Regulations, Released 04/01/2008

Tarpon Populations Need Protection

• Research shows that adult tarpon migrate throughout the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States, and the Caribbean. In addition, genetic research indicates a single large tarpon stock.
• This means that this is a regional fishery and the resource should be managed as a single stock.
• Tarpon are long-lived (>80 years) and slow growing, which means that the stock is especially vulnerable to harvests.
• Therefore, the killing of tarpon anywhere impacts tarpon fishermen everywhere.
• It is clear that there are significantly fewer tarpon around now than there were 30 years ago.
• Catch and release recreational tarpon fisheries are worth billions of dollars per year in US waters alone. These fisheries rely on healthy tarpon populations.
• Indiscriminant and wasteful harvest of this important gamefish should no longer be allowed.

New Management Plans Needed

• Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited strongly recommends a regional management plan for tarpon.
o Part of such a management plan would include the severe limitation of tarpon harvests.
• While some Management Agencies have management plans designed to protect tarpon stocks, others lag behind.
o Florida and Texas exemplify States with strong management plans that protect tarpon stocks
o Louisiana exemplifies States that should update their tarpon management plans
o The United States (Federal) and Mexico should update their management plans

Call for Action

• BTU encourages its members and all concerned anglers to take action to ensure that a comprehensive regional multi-State management plan for tarpon is enacted as soon as possible
• Suggested actions:

Contact the Regional Administrator at NOAA Fisheries (http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/leadershipbio.htm) and regional fishery management Councils (Gulf of Mexico

http://www.gulfcouncil.org; South Atlantic http://www.safmc.net) to:
demand that tarpon are added to the list of federally-managed gamefish (there is currently NO federal regulation of tarpon)
demand a federal management plan that prevents harvests of tarpon in Federal waters

Contact the State of Louisiana Division of Marine Fisheries (http://www.wlf.state.la.us/aboutldwf/divisions/marinefisheries) to:
request that tarpon regulations be updated to severely restrict or eliminate harvests in Louisiana State waters

Contact your State Fisheries Agencies to:
ensure your State laws restrict the harvest of tarpon
encourage your State to support a regional management plan for tarpon

Sign on to the BTU petition so when we speak with fisheries managers we can show them how many anglers care about this issue.
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I hope what I've written is understandable. Unfortunately it is fairly long. The message is important. Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited and the tarpon need your help!

Thanks!

Ray

Here's a link to the petition page:

http://www.tarbone.org/tarpon.cfm