Nearly everyone agrees that the Florida Bay bonefishery has been in decline for a very long time, but took a steep dive in the past five years. A study published early this year by University of Miami bonefish researcher Mike Larkin and colleagues found the bonefish stock from Biscayne Bay through Key West is “bordering on an overfished status.” The last bonefish census in the region conducted in the fall of 2010 by UM and the non-profit Bonefish Tarpon Trust found a “substantial decrease” since guides and anglers began the annual count in 2003.
Researchers, guides and anglers cite a host of possible reasons for the scarcity of one of the South Florida’s most important sport fish: deteriorating water quality (algae blooms and septic system leaks); loss of sea grass and other habitat and prey; boating and fishing pressure; the extended cold snap of 2010; catch-and-release mortality; commercial netting that took place decades ago — and the combination of all of the above. Continue reading..
