Snook Shindig coming April 8-9, 2016
The William R. Mote Memorial Snook Shindig honoring Captain Scotty Moore, a research-based catch, sample and release tournament, has been rescheduled for April 8-9, 2016.
The tournament, which was originally scheduled for November 2015, was postponed due to a precautionary response to increased pressures on the snook population caused by Karenia brevis, or the algae that causes Florida red tide.
This spring, anglers are invited to a unique, science-focused snook tournament to be held by Mote Marine Laboratory on April 8-9. This tournament includes great awards including fishing gear, artwork and gift certificates and raffles, fantastic door prizes, a bag of free items, special event t-shirt and a fabulous banquet.
There will be a mandatory captain’s meeting Friday night followed by a night and day of snook fishing and a celebratory awards banquet.
This is a great opportunity for anglers of all ages and abilities to be “citizen scientists” and to help provide valuable information on tagged hatchery-reared snook released into Sarasota Bay.
- More information will be available at mote.org/snookshindig as soon as details are finalized.
Snook are one of the most sought-after catches in Florida’s saltwater recreational fishing industry, which draws more than $6 billion to the economy annually. However, increased fishing pressure, habitat loss and natural challenges such as freezes and red tide have contributed to a decline in snook populations. Thus, for more than 25 years, Mote and FWC scientists have partnered on research studies designed to evaluate if stocking hatchery-reared snook can be an effective fishery management tool for replenishing snook stocks.
Mote researchers document snook caught during the tournament to identify individual hatchery-reared fish they previously tagged and released, recovering vital data that can be used to adjust release protocols and model fishery-enhancement potential. Past tournament results have revealed that changes in snook-release strategies, based on Mote pilot studies, have improved survival of stocked snook by as much as 200 percent.