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What happens in Mexico Doesn't Stay in Mexico!!!

11K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  That Robbie Guy 
#1 ·
From my friend south of the border. This is what happens to our big girls when they swim through Mexico. Very unfortunate. Fish are a little early down there, so maybe they will leave and escape the big kill tournament in May. We can only hope. These are two ladies that won't be making the trip to Texas this summer. :hairout:
 

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#5 ·
Kill tournaments in Louisiana like the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo. They don't take a large number in Louisiana - not saying that is right or wrong - but incidental death from angler poor release etc. is probably higher than what the tournaments kill in Louisiana anyway. Most of those guys are conservation oriented and practice catch and release 99% of the time in Louisiana. Still like to see them voluntarily change that over there... but the winds of change blow slowly.

Mexico is a far bigger problem -still !!!
 
#8 ·
Our Tarpon

Swim all over the Gulf and Central American coasts, Mexico has been and will continue to harvest Tarpon so long as there are mestizo harvesters and money to be made. Same for LA **** asses -- kill all the sharks and there will be more tarpon, its just the nature of things - showing dead fish to provoke an emotional response hurts fishing in general - better to have an educated populace than to get off the goal --I was in the mangroves at Hopkins Belize the last two years - thousand upon thousands of juvenile tarpon, its definitely one stop over and nursery.
 
#10 ·
The way to stop this in Mexico is to mimic what was done in Cabo with the billfish. Make it a commodity to angle for them and switch the income...there is more money to be made on a living fish than a dead one. Cabo guides used to kill over 50% of their billfish and started waking up to the fact if there was only a less than 10% kill, there is more money to be made...
 
#11 ·
Some more details. Photo was taken at a warehouse in a small fishing town south of Vera Cruz. This particular long liner keeps all of the tarpon he catches. These fish are not sold in an open fish market but sold nonetheless. Likely a by-catch for the long liner but the effect is the same.

Don't really see the Cabo thing coming to fruition down there. Safety and low tourism on that part of Mexico will likely prevent any real development of that market. The big fish are only there a few months as they pass through on their way to Texas. Just don't see the same type of viable tourist industry starting in this area. At least the kill tournaments are now down to one. The other two or three switched to catch and release. That is a step in the right direction, but the one kill tournament can kill a hundred or more tarpon in just a few days. The participants pretty much bring every tarpon to the dock.
 
#14 ·
Just reading the first few posts boy does it get me boiling! One of the top hated things in my book (which are not many) is killing of big fish. I dont care who you are big fish need to breed to pass on good genes. I love making idiots feel more like idiots when I talk to them in person. Saw a post on some social web page about a guy spearing a super big marlin..... Boy was he happy until educated people got into the comment section. I just dont get the world. And man is education effed up in it!! At times I wish there were no animals to hunt or fish to fish for. I could go on and on but to what use.

Sorry for maybe getting off topic. Is tarpon good eating anyways?

Side not not against hunting and fishin I do it myself but use your **** brain is what I say. Keep the intermediate fish and let the big ones go.
 
#16 ·
Even the kill tournament in Veracruz sees fewer fish than when I first moved there. But about 8 years ago, they tried to have a C & R tournament, before the kill tournament. It was canceled before it started, due to lack of interest/participation. This is simply the Mexican mentality and it will be slow to change. Y'all should see what the netters put into their fish boxes to sell....like anything that swims, including angelfish and butterfly fish (tropical) Those they cannot sell, (along with the jacks, blue runners, etc.) are made into "minilla," a Mexican fish dip served with tortilla chips.

But even in our own beloved USA, the commercials and their deep pockets have control over state and even federal gov'ts. It took the near extinction of the kingfish schools off the Lower Keys, before they finally imposed a net ban. The Kings returned eventually but they still are not in the numbers that once were.

Tarpon are a different story. I firmly believe that there are more fish than most people believe. I remember the big panic, back in the early 90's. But it is just that their migration patterns changed greatly with the warming of the Gulf of Mexico. I've got plenty of evidence to back that up with, too. Most of our tarpon are killed by mis-handling by guides and anglers alike. Unfortunately, light tackle and fly fishermen must bear most of this burden, because they do not learn how to maximize the pressure they can put on a fish with whatever tackle they are using. Then guides allow the fight to go on too long....etc. etc. etc.....it all adds up. But don't think for 1 minute that because you release a tarpon and you see it swim away, that it is going to survive. Several possibilities exist that all end in that fish's ultimate demise. It's gotten so that I don't like to fish for tarpon over 50 lbs. anymore. I also prefer to target them in areas where [hammerhead] sharks do not normally patrol and they have all the time they need to recover their strength.
 
#18 ·
Even the kill tournament in Veracruz sees fewer fish than when I first moved there. But about 8 years ago, they tried to have a C & R tournament, before the kill tournament. It was canceled before it started, due to lack of interest/participation. This is simply the Mexican mentality and it will be slow to change. Y'all should see what the netters put into their fish boxes to sell....like anything that swims, including angelfish and butterfly fish (tropical) Those they cannot sell, (along with the jacks, blue runners, etc.) are made into "minilla," a Mexican fish dip served with tortilla chips.
I agree, but they have changed some in Mexico. There are three major tournaments out of the Veracruz/Tampico area. Two have gone to all catch and release. The last one is hard to change and they kill hundreds of tarpon in just a few days. In 2015 and probably again this year, there won't be many fish around. The water warmed more quickly and the fish came through early. That tournament is in about three weeks down there. I'll get a report after the tournament. As long as they keep giving away cars as prizes, I don't see that tournament changing anytime soon. If they have a run of three or four years with no tarpon, maybe folks will lose interest. Let's hope.
 
#23 ·
After reading the abundance of info in this thread by what seems like very knowledgeable writing.... It seems like its the issue with stripers here in California. Its a sad order of things. Today as a matter of fact while trying to do some research on lures for stripers that a buddy of mine wanted I ran into a blog. Well it was a sad day to say the least. This guy had about 4-6 hens posted on there that where all 35 lbs and bigger all taken home. People just dont get the idea behind conservancy! But I do post and tell as many people as I can about the foolish thinking behind need to kill every **** fish you catch....! I guess people forget about shopping markets with food in them and think that if you catch it in a lake, river or ocean its clean meat. Sorry but its not so any longer (especially here in the CA watershed!).
 
#24 ·
...This guy had about 4-6 hens posted on there that where all 35 lbs and bigger all taken home. People just dont get the idea behind conservancy! But I do post and tell as many people as I can about the foolish thinking behind need to kill every **** fish you catch....! ....
Those hens were probably about 14 years old. I share your pain.

Social media, IMO, shares in much of the blame but really its the peoples attitudes that have to change....and that kind of change comes very slow, unfortunately.
 
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