Florida’s sport-fishing industry generates approximately $5.5 billion in local revenue. Renowned Miami fisherman Captain Joe Gonzalez told WaterWideWeb, “Revenue generated by any sports fishing is greater than any commercial fishery. People pay to fish with experts, purchase tackle, and for food and lodging.”
Gonzalez is a “big fish” in Florida’s Biscayne Bay. The Captain has been catching bonefish for over two decades. In the past seven years, Gonzalez has caught almost 1,500 bonefish. He also works with Dr. Jerry Ault and Mike Larkin of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science that is researching bonefish population and behavior.
In January 2011, The Bonefish & Tarpon Journal featured an entire story on the contribution of Gonzalez to the sport and science of bone fishing. Specifically, Gonzalez works with acoustic telemetry studies and the long-term anchoring-tagging program.
Tagging the bonefish allows scientists to track the number of bonefish from Biscayne Bay all the way down to the Florida Keys. Research and tracking of bonefish is important to preserving the sport of fishing and the money that it flows into the economy annually. According to Ault, the average bonefish represents $3,500 per year and $75,000 in its lifetime.
If the bonefish population were to alter drastically, it would be indicative that either the ecosystem of the fish had altered or some change to its immediate environment had occurred.
Gonzalez’s findings have concluded that bonefish are not just “locals” in their water. Rather, they travel to other seas. Larger bonefish have distanced themselves offshore of Biscayne Bay. Sometimes, the fish travel into even deeper seas when the temperature drops below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
In fact, a fish that Gonzalez caught in Biscayne Bay was actually found almost 11 months later at Andros Island in the Bahamas.
Presently, bonefish research can’t be compared over the long-term because there haven’t been any historical studies. The work of Gonzalez and his affiliates at the University of Miami is laying the framework for future comparative studies of bonefish over time.
Nostalgically, the old Captain says, “So yes, the fishing is not as strong as it used to be. But we’ll always be talking about how it used to be.”
Photo provided by Captain Joe Gonzalez
Please watch videos of fishing in Biscayne Bay by the Capatain here
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Good article but the picture is a trout, and Joe Gonzalez not so old: I fish with him sometimes.
I think that opinions about the state of fishery from professional Captains are very reliable because those people are out on the water as much as they can, and they make a living of it.
Moreover fisherman in general are very eco worryed because of their passion for the sport and his environment.
Thanks for reading Alex! The photo that is displayed in this article was taken directly from the Captain’s website. And the adjective “old” was merely an adjective that support his poetic final thought on bonefishing. So glad you read the article!
Great take! Nice size!!!
With 21 reds and five bonefish Patrick Dorsy Coral Gables Fla. out fished a field of 136 anglers and celebrities to win the15th Annual Mercury Outboards Cheeca Redbone celebrity fishing tournament on Sunday. Catching 36 reds and two bonefish Robert Collins Naples was the runner-up angler.