ALL HAIL THE SILVER KING – November/December 2020

THE ATLANTIC TARPON (Megalops atlanticus) stands out in the minds of those that have had the privilege to catch or even hook one. If their sheer size, upwards of 200 and 300 lbs., doesn’t impress you, their fight surely will.

When hooked, a tarpon will fly head over tail into the air displaying its true power. After witnessing such an acrobatic maneuver, you won’t wonder why they have been adorned and crowned with the nickname, “The Silver King.”

Tarpon fishing has deep roots in the Gulf of Mexico, with Port Aransas, Texas, known for decades as the “Tarpon Capitol of the World.” Since the late-1800s, anglers from big cities such as Chicago and New York have flocked to this humble town along the Texas coast to spar with the Silver King.

A testament to the Texas tarpon heyday can be seen at the historic Tarpon Inn, Port Aransas. There, tarpon scales line the walls, many signed by the anglers who were able to bring the fish to hand. Even former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s signature can be found there. These scales also provide an important benchmark for conservation efforts because back then it was not uncommon to hook up and land several 100-pound tarpon on any given summer day.

Unfortunately, in the 1960s, this once bountiful fishery collapsed. With it so did the important tourism dollars and bragging rights. Today, this sharp decline in tarpon numbers is largely attributed to drought that resulted in the construction of reservoirs and, in turn, the damning of free-flowing Texas rivers.

When freshwater is restricted from estuarine environments and bays, salinity levels drastically increase leading to large seagrass die offs and ecosystem-wide changes. Ultimately, these estuarine systems, serving as critical juvenile tarpon habitats, began to disappear.

Important prey including shrimp, crabs, and bait fish, also became less abundant to fuel the needs of the visiting adult Silver King. Finally, oil spills off the coastline of Mexico and Texas began regularly infiltrating our tarpon’ coastlines.

In addition to large-scale ecosystem changes, we can also point toward historic overfishing of large adult tarpon in the region and more broadly throughout the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, when tarpon seemed plentiful and never ending, anglers would often haul their catches to the dock for photos at what we now realize were unsustainable rates. Similarly, overfishing for tarpon also existed in Mexico, however, unlike in Texas, there it was for table fare, not trophy photos.

In recent decades, research efforts have increased to better understand and uncover the secret lives of tarpon, with a goal to guide protection and perhaps even restoration of tarpon stocks and the important habitats on which they rely. For example, with ongoing tarpon tracking studies, we now have evidence that these fish may travel hundreds to thousands of miles for spawning and foraging. This is especially troublesome since it means tarpon caught in Texas, for instance, may be from the same population that spends time in Mexico where they could be readily harvested.

In fact, a handful of tarpon have been tagged in Texas, and showed a southern migration toward Mexico in the fall. We now understand there are likely two separate tarpon populations within the Gulf of Mexico, with the Mississippi River Delta serving as a melting pot and the divider between the east and the west. However much of the past science focused only on large tarpon. Coastlines are also changing, This makes it even more imperative to establish a deeper understanding of movement patterns of tarpon of all ages, consistent from year to year.

Based on an extensive multi-year tarpon-tracking project using acoustic telemetry, key movement patterns are beginning to emerge. This innovative technology involves stationary acoustic receivers or “listening stations” moored on the sea floor. These receivers detect the signals from acoustic tags that we surgically implant into Atlantic tarpon. The transmitters are the size of a AA battery and have a lifespan of five years. This means not only can we implant them in a wide size range of tarpon, including those around 15 pounds, we can also track them over multiple years. As the tarpon swims past the network of receivers, a unique ID code, date and time are saved on the receiver.

With thousands of these receivers deployed across the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern USA, we can now track tarpon across the Gulf and adjacent waters. Now we can build a more detailed understanding of what really makes a tarpon move—or, in some cases, stay.

Our study has already revealed that small tarpon once considered resident to a particular area from season to season actually make extraordinary 1000-plus-mile migrations along the coast. By using sophisticated analyses of more than a million detections to date, the data are providing other important clues about the movement patterns of Atlantic tarpon, including that the likely locations of numerous offshore spawning locations in the Gulf of Mexico.

The data are also beginning to reveal that tarpon rely heavily on the many rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern USA. These rivers deliver nutrients that fuel the coastal ecosystems that tarpon prey rely on.

Our data highlight river deltas such as the Santee Delta, South Carolina; Shark River, Florida; Apalachicola Delta, Florida; and the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana. These deltas are probably important foraging areas for tarpon in the summer and fall months.

However, when river flows are altered and extensive commercial harvest of menhaden off Louisiana and the Chesapeake Bay occurs, it could spell trouble for tarpon that travel great distances to gorge and recover from their spawning migrations.

Knowledge gained through science is an important foundation for how modern-day tarpon populations are managed, and hopefully restored. Results from tracking studies can now anchor the testimony of anglers and scientists alike for the need for multi-state and even broader international management strategies. This includes restricted harvest quotas for tarpon, while also promoting best handling practices. This ensures a caught fish will survive to reproduce once more.

We will also need another call to action for the restoration of waterways and estuaries that provide essential habitat and forage for juvenile tarpon. Now we understand that without healthy forage base there will not be enough food for adult tarpon. So, we need more attention to conservation of forage fish.

Today, we are witnessing the revitalization of Texas tarpon fishing. Although it may not yet be able to reclaim the title of “Tarpon Capital of the World,” fishing guides and anglers are beginning to see numbers increase at a steady rate. This is likely a direct benefit of Texan anglers adopting catch-and-release practices.

Imagine what may be in store if anglers, scientists, and fisheries managers from across the Gulf of Mexico unite in a larger effort to restore and protect Atlantic tarpon populations. Finding ways to balance human needs with the needs of tarpon is the only way to ensure that future generations of anglers have the opportunity to bow to the Silver King, and for a place like Port Aransas to share the crown.

Calling all Tarpon Anglers

Have you ever fished for Atlantic tarpon? Want to support the conservation of the silver king? Help us learn more about the secret lives of these fish and how to best protect them. Complete this survey at http://bit.ly/Tarponurvey. Also included is an optional raffle for a free Patagonia Stormfront Rolltop Backpack.

 

 

—story by DR. LUCAS GRIFFIN and DR. ANDY DANYLCHUK
(Special Thanks to Bonefish & Tarpon Trust)

 

 

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