Florida Tech Kicks Off Tarpon “Fishing for Science” Tournament

– Florida Tech’s Sportfish Research Institute is reeling in people willing to go to the Indian River Lagoon and coastal waters and fish for tarpon. People
of all ages who like to fish can support the institute in coordinating a three-month tarpon fishing tournament. It kicks off on June 30 with a 7 p.m.
meeting at Captain Hiram’s Restaurant in Sebastian.

The rewards are actual prizes for biggest, smallest and most tarpon caught “and any other category that we can think of,” said Dr. Jonathan Shenker,
director of the institute and Florida Tech associate professor of biological sciences. Another reward is the knowledge of helping to further scientific
findings and possibly improve local waterways.

“We’re trying to answer one of the biggest questions about the biology and management of tarpon-where do they come from and how do we best protect them?”
said Shenker. “The big question is, ‘do the lagoon nurseries provide the adults we find in our areas, or do our adults migrate from other nursery areas in
the Caribbean, off Cuba, Mexico and elsewhere?'”

For more information, contact Dr. Shenker at (321) 674-8145, or visit the tournament Web site at: http://www.fit.edu/~shenker/tournament.htm.