Despite high winds and tough fishing conditions, the 2014 Belize River Lodge Bonefish and Permit Tagging Challenge was a great success. The week was filled with lots of quality fishing time and many memories were made all while helping towards a conservation goal.
Due to the weather, most anglers chose to focus their fishing efforts on permit and tarpon. In total, 19 bonefish and 2 permit were tagged, and 4 swabs were collected from tarpon for genetics research. At the end of the week, Belize River Lodge and Frontiers Travel donated $4500 on behalf of event attendees. Some of the anglers followed up with additional donations, for a grand total of $7000 donated to BTT’s Project Belize.
The Belize River Lodge Bonefish and Permit Tagging Challenge is an event that blends research and fishing, all while staying at one of the Caribbean’s best fishing lodges. The mission is to tag as many bonefish and permit as possible with “spaghetti tags” allowing us to follow their growth and movement patterns. The information collected is critical in the effort to help conserve and enhance this amazing fishery.
BTT scientists were on hand to discuss and teach tagging and fish handling techniques and to answer questions about BTT’s research and conservation efforts. A presentation of recent scientific findings about our target species was presented one evening. This provided a great opportunity to swap stories and learn first-hand about bonefish, tarpon and permit.
Fishing opportunities at Belize River Lodge are second-to-none. The lodge was one of the hosts for the BTT television show “Buccaneers and Bones” and is one of the top locations in the world for catching IGFA registered inshore Grand Slams and Super Slams. For more information on Belize River Lodge call 1-888-275-4843 or visit www.belizeriverlodge.com
If you would like to donate to BTT or if you would like to join us on one of our upcoming traveling angler trips, visit www.btt.org or call 321-674-7758.
