Daytona Beach, Fla. – Nov. 18, 2014 – “We wanted to make a difference, and we wanted it to matter in the end,” said Al Perkinson, vice president of marketing for Costa, upon receiving only the second Lefty Kreh Sportsman of the Year Award from the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (BTT). Perkinson accepted the prestigious honor at the recent International Bonefish and Tarpon Trust Symposium.
The BTT awards selection committee chose Perkinson because of his leadership, strategic direction and dedication towards Project Permit, the joint effort between Costa and BTT to tag more than 6,000 permit in five years across Florida, Mexico, Belize and the Caribbean.
The research generated from the catch and tag retrieval will help policy-makers and regulators reach informed decisions about protecting permit fisheries. The data will also help to shed light on questions such as: are the permit that spawn on artificial reefs off southwest Florida the same permit that inhabit the Florida Keys, or do they come from elsewhere; are the permit of Mexico a single large population, or are permit populations regional?
“Project Permit is very much a grassroots efforts, calling on anglers and guides to tag permit and retrieve tags for the BTT to analyze,” said Perkinson. “But we believed – and we still believe – in backing fisheries management procedures with true scientific data, and in mobilizing the angling community to help protect the fisheries we love.”
This is only the second time the Lefty Kreh Sportsman of the Year Award, sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, has been handed out. The first award was given to Bernard “Lefty” Kreh himself at the previous International BTT Symposium held in 2011. The recognition is awarded every three years to a person who has shown leadership in the fishing industry toward conservation, innovation, promotion, and conservation of bonefish, tarpon, permit, and other coastal gamefish.
Kreh is admired as one of the pioneers of saltwater fly fishing who helped develop the techniques that have allowed saltwater fly fishing to progress to where it is today. He is a leader in communication and instruction, passing along his enthusiasm for the sport and the fish in countless books, newspaper and magazine articles, videos, television shows, and personal appearances.
“Al has been instrumental in making Costa one of the top conservation supporters in the fishing industry,” said Dr. Aaron Adams, director of operations for the BTT. “His vision and energy helped to get Project Permit started, and has been critical to keeping the program moving forward. Without Project Permit we would not have made the strides in permit conservation that we have so far.”
For more information on Project Permit, visit www.projectpermit.com.
