It all begins with an idea.
Why Texas Tarpon Collaborative? Quick answer—the Silver King was once the king of the Texas Gulf Coast! There were so many of them they even named a town Tarpon, Texas—now known as Port Aransas. From 1885 to 1950 the Port Aransas economy relied heavily on tarpon fishing and people came from all over the country to get a chance at landing one. Even President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dropped in to catch a few. “Where They Bite Every Day” was the Port Aransas’ town motto and it was common to see tarpon rolling and feeding in every nook and cranny of the Texas Coast.
In the last 50 years, though, tarpon started dying off and scientists point out there are several contributing factors that caused it. First of all, during the 1950’s there was a severe drought in Texas that caused a massive effort to dam up rivers all over Texas. The resulting loss of freshwater to the bay systems meant no more food and an all but uninhabitable former fishy home. In addition, heavy pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer use in the waters that do make it to the bay also contributed to their decline. Increasing boat traffic also may have been a factor. The tarpon is exceptionally wary and the noise thrumming through their air bladder next to their otolith (their ear bones) is thought to make them even more skittish. Lastly, and this was the most easily controlled yet overlooked reason was overfishing. Tarpon are not consistently found on dinner tables as a food fish in Texas, so the dead tarpon caught in recreational fishing and in tournaments known as Tarpon Rodeos, were photographed next to the angler and then thrown away. In some places today, this is still the practice.
That’s where we come in—we know that the fishery can be a vital, recreational catch and release fishery and through our efforts in conservation, habitat restoration and education are making a difference. Please join us today!!