In an ongoing effort to bring relevant conservation topics to the attention of our readers, we’ve decided to periodically highlight topics of concern or interest as often as we could through our publication and blog. The issues we address may be broad or more local in nature but affect us all on some level as they impact the natural resources we have all developed such an affinity for. If there is an issue in your area that you feel deserves special attention, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can try to address it. Send mail to: Admin@tailflyfishing.com
What Happened To Our Fish?
An Angler Opines
We live in a world of constant flux and I believe that we have a responsibility to pass it on to the next generation in the best possible condition. I remember as a kid going down to the Gulf Coast and walking out into the muddy surf, throwing a plastic shrimp tail and catching fish after fish until my friend’s mom would make us come in out of the sun for a while
. As kids, we just assumed that things would never change, that we’d be able to take our kids down to the same spots and repeat those same experiences. I wish that were the case but with an additional 40 years under my belt and two boys of my own, I sadly know that it’s not. I know now that if we ever want to see some of those same conditions again it will take work, A LOT of work.
Every year we learn more about our environment and the impact that we as people have on it. We also learn more about what we can do to help minimize that impact. There are many good organizations out there that are doing just that. You may be affiliated with one or more of these organizations and you may not be. If you are, awesome, they need your help. If you’re not, I would suggest that you try to get involved at some level if you possibly can, every little bit helps.
Clean-up someone else’s mess, pick-up a bottle, a plastic bag, a piece of paper and get it off the beach or out of the marsh or even off the streets (all rivers run to the sea you know) and don’t make a mess of your own. Teach your kids. If you don’t have kids, teach a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker or someone else’s kid. Get a reusable thermos and use it for water or other drinks instead of plastic bottles. Ride your bike or walk somewhere, even just once a week (it’ll help keep you in fishing shape and it will keep some oil or rubber off the streets, which will end up in the sea).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/snemann2/
These little steps won’t solve the entire problem. It will take much more than that, but these steps will help stem the tide and make the bigger work that much easier. If we all just pay more attention to what we’re doing and how it impacts the environment, it will make a difference and maybe we won’t have to try and explain to future generations where all the fish went.
