Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

Protecting Miami's spawning bonefish! This year, BTT successfully advocated for the protection of the bonefish pre-spawning aggregation site previously discovered by BTT scientists in Biscayne National Park. Photo: Ian Wilson.Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is hard at work protecting and restoring South Florida’s inshore waters, habitats, and fisheries.

Protecting Miami's spawning bonefish! This year, BTT successfully advocated for the protection of the bonefish pre-spawning aggregation site previously discovered by BTT scientists in Biscayne National Park. Photo: Ian Wilson.

Do you enjoy fishing and boating in Biscayne Bay and the Keys? Do you care about clean water? Do you want healthy fisheries and habitats now, and for future generations? Then BTT is hard at work for YOU!

About Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

For more than 25 years, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has brought science to the fight for clean water and healthy habitats in South Florida! Our mission is to conserve and protect bonefish, tarpon, and permit and the fisheries they comprise. From our headquarters in Miami, BTT science drives results that anglers, boaters, beach-goers, and all Floridians can enjoy today and tomorrow.

In South Florida, BTT works to…

• Improve water quality and protect nursery habitat to ensure healthy populations of sportfish.
• Restore mangrove forests and marshland for juvenile tarpon and snook.
• Secure federal and state funding to Save the Everglades.
• Address emerging contaminants and threats in Florida waters, including pharmaceuticals.
• Advocate for wastewater and stormwater infrastructure improvements statewide.

A conservation win for Florida’s bonefish in Biscayne Bay!

This year, BTT successfully advocated to protect a bonefish pre-spawning aggregation (PSA) site discovered by BTT scientists in 2023 in Florida's Biscayne National Park. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted to pass seasonal protections of the sensitive 1.74-square-mile area to all fishing from March through May over the next five years. Protecting this site during peak spawning season will help ensure the continued recovery of Florida's prized bonefish fishery. 

BTT, with the help of local fishing guides, is now working to identify a second suspected PSA site in the Lower Keys near Key West. Locating and safeguarding these spawning sites is critically important to the long-term health and sustainability of the Keys’ bonefish population.

Learn more about our current projects and past accomplishments at BTT.org!