The 6th Annual Lowcountry Tarpon Tournament was a huge success, with 26 boats and 89 anglers coming together for a great tournament raising funds for BTT and a local boys shelter. Captains Newman Weaver, Jordan Pate, Steve Roff, Jay Nelson, and Douglas Miller were responsible for putting together this wonderful event, and Captain Newman Weaver and angler Dale Lacy won the tournament using artificial lures.
Over the years, the tournament—the brainchild of BTT board member Andrew McLain—has raised nearly $40,000 for BTT’s tarpon research. This year, BTT is pleased to put the funds raised towards its recently launched juvenile tarpon habitat program at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center.
Here’s something that many don’t know, or just don’t think about when they are out chasing big tarpon: As juveniles, they depend upon backwater wetlands and swamps. Without these backwater habitats, we would have few juveniles surviving and becoming the big fish that make anglers weak in the knees. In other words, places where most anglers don’t fish are essential to the fishery. Unfortunately, in many areas these backwater habitats have been lost or have become degraded. In fact, the loss and degradation of juvenile habitats is a major reason that a recent International Union for the Conservation of Nature scientific assessment classified the tarpon population as“vulnerable.” This is why Bonefish & Tarpon Trust launched the Juvenile Tarpon Habitat Program a few years ago. We’re pleased to report that the program is gaining steam.
