For the past month or so, Save The Tarpon has been profiling companies that have attached their brand to the controversial Professional Tarpon Tournament Series. It’s an awareness campaign. Our members and supporters, more than 12,000 of them, have responded by contacting PTTS sponsors through Facebook, email and by phone.
Two companies have been profiled to date. Both have discontinued their sponsorship of the event. More PTTS sponsors will be profiled in the coming weeks and months. This is in addition to our ongoing boycott effort. And yes, you are on the list.
PTTS sponsors who have reached out to us have been largely unaware that they’ve been promoting this event. Others viewed the PTTS as “just another fishing show.” Many have since taken a closer look. It’s fair to say they aren’t happy about what they’ve seen and what they’ve learned.
A great Boca Grande Tarpon night I had a few years ago
Save The Tarpon has made education a priority since its formation in June, 2012. We have targeted our message of conservation, preservation and respect for the tarpon fishery to the public, anglers, sportsmen, politicians and, of course, the corporate community. Our “Do The WRITE Thing” effort was designed to help spread this message to companies like yours which, we truly believe, made a well-intentioned but poorly vetted sponsorship decision.
When Save The Tarpon was launched this past summer – and yes, our organization is less than a year old – overtures were made to the principals of the PTTS. We asked the tournament to consider ending the practice we call “gaff and drag” and follow the lead of similar events by adopting a true catch and release format that research has shown dramatically increases survival. We asked the PTTS to crack down on the reckless boat handling methods of its participants, what the PTTS proudly touts as “organized chaos.” We asked the PTTS to take measures to assure the fishing public would once again have unfettered access to Boca Grande Pass at all times.
The PTTS refused. “Refused” is a polite way of describing the tournament’s response. Back then, Save The Tarpon boasted fewer than 100 members and supporters. The PTTS, on the other hand, boasted corporate backing from some of the biggest players on the planet. The combined clout of companies much like yours allowed PTTS television host Joe Mercurio, speaking on your behalf, to go on the record and publicly state “we’ll stop when someone tells us to stop.”
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