WEBVTT 00:07.933 --> 00:12.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% They are vast expanses of serene, crystal-clear waters as far as the eye can see. 00:15.366 --> 00:20.366 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% It is an absolutely unique place. It's usually less than six feet of water that is a matrix 00:22.366 --> 00:26.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% of sand, seagrass, little corals and sponges that offers good foraging grounds for many 00:27.533 --> 00:29.666 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% different species. 00:29.666 --> 00:34.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The fish are just going about their business. You just see them in their own element eating 00:35.866 --> 00:40.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and cruising and it's really neat to see. 00:40.166 --> 00:45.133 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% These are the Flats - a place where recreational anglers pursue the legendary bonefish, tarpon 00:47.566 --> 00:49.533 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% and permit. 00:49.533 --> 00:53.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% There's no other place I'd rather be fly fishing than on the flats. 00:53.966 --> 00:58.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Flats fishing is just a very romanticized, dramatic thing. 01:01.000 --> 01:05.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It's just the allure, poling around these flats and trying to find a fish. 01:06.200 --> 01:10.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Oh, come on. What is that? Is that fish? 01:10.500 --> 01:13.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Flats fishing is not like you drop a piece of shrimp to the bottom and wait for the fish 01:13.700 --> 01:17.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to eat it. Flats fishing is a hunt. 01:17.533 --> 01:22.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It's very much a stalking game, it's like hunting except you get to release the fish 01:23.333 --> 01:27.800 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% when you catch it. 01:27.800 --> 01:32.633 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% You actually have to see the fish before you throw the fly. 01:32.633 --> 01:36.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% You're trying to trick a fish into eating a completely artificial fly that you've often 01:36.766 --> 01:38.900 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% tied yourself out of materials. 01:38.900 --> 01:43.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It's pretty challenging especially when weather conditions aren't in your favor. 01:43.000 --> 01:47.700 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% You're not thinking about anything else when you're out on the flats. 01:47.700 --> 01:52.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Research commissioned by the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust has shown these recreational 01:52.333 --> 01:54.566 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% fisheries are worth big money. 01:54.566 --> 01:59.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% There's a study, in 2009, in the middle of the recession, found that the annual economic 02:01.566 --> 02:05.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% impact of the bonefish catch and release fishery in the Bahamas was 141 million dollars. We 02:07.633 --> 02:10.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% are in the process of redoing that study now and preliminary estimates are that it's more 02:13.366 --> 02:16.300 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% than 200 million dollars. In the Florida Keys, the flats fishery, which is bonefish, tarpon 02:16.300 --> 02:21.300 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% and permit, the annual economic impact is over 460 million dollars. 02:22.500 --> 02:26.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% But in some areas, these fish are on the decline. 02:26.666 --> 02:31.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% In order for us to pass this down, we have to secure what we have now. And in order to 02:33.400 --> 02:37.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% do that, you've got to work with the researchers. 02:37.566 --> 02:42.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% What does scientific research reveal about bonefish, tarpon and permit? 02:44.000 --> 02:47.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Can it help to ensure their survival into the future?