Guides’ movie raises questions on fishery preservation and fishing practices

Cappy Joiner

For years the Association has been working to educate the public about the importance of the population of tarpon in Charlotte Harbor to the tarpon fishery all along the Gulf Coast. Every year, hundreds of thousands of tarpon travel through the Pass on their way to spawn in the Gulf of Mexico. In an effort to spread the word, the guides have worked with filmmaker Richard Volpe to produce a 20 minute documentary on the subject.

Featuring footage from tournaments and interviews with long-time Pass guides, the movie brings into focus the conflict between traditional live bait fishing and jig fishing. After the video, there was a question and answer session. Many of the topics discussed came back to one subject: Getting the word out to the general public.

While the issues raised by the documentary are ones that have been discussed for years among the tarpon fishing community and tarpon conservationists, Cappy hopes that the documentary will bring attention from a wider audience.

The Guides Association provided a petition asking for the termination of the Professional Tarpon Tournament Series, as well as a list of tournament sponsors for concerned citizens to contact.

If you missed the showing, the documentary is available to watch on the Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association website bocagrandefishing.com.

Any suggestions to improve the film are welcome. To get a copy of the Guides' petition and a list of PTTS sponsors, along with a template letter to send to sponsors, contact Cappy Joiner at 697-6052.