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Flats Ecology & Conservation Program

Bonefish

Bonefish (Albula spp.) inhabit shallow tropical and subtropical marine environments worldwide. Although bonefish are harvested for consumption in some regions, recreational catch-and-release angling has become a popular activity that carries significant economic value. For example, the recreational bonefishing industry in Florida is estimated to generate several billion dollars annually, making the economic value of an individual adult bonefish in this region quite high. In smaller nations, such as The Bahamas, the relative value of bonefish can be much greater because the revenues generated through bonefishing-related tourism can form the economic basis of entire local communities.

Bonefish are also important to the ecology of tropical and subtropical flats. Much of their adult lives are spent foraging intensively in the benthos, consequently it is likely that bonefish help shape the physical structure of the substrate in coastal flats. Bonefish also spend a great deal of their adult lives moving among the various flats habitats, thus they may serve as important conduits for nutrient cycling in coastal ecosystems. Bonefish are not, however, creatures of the flats alone. The larvae of bonefish spend prolonged periods of time in nearshore pelagic environments. Because of the broad habitat requirements of bonefish during their lifecycle, the natural dynamics of populations could easily be disrupted by the modification or destruction of coastal ecosystems.

Despite their economic and ecological importance, relatively little is known about the biology and ecology of bonefish. A major focus of the FECP is to determine whether human activities, such as catch-and-release angling and habitat modification, have impacts on bonefish populations.

Included in our suite of research on bonefish is:

• Quantifying the effects of catch-and-release angling on bonefish
• Determining the attributes of the angling event that affect the susceptibility of bonefish to mortality post-release
• Quantifying the movements and interactions between bonefish and their predators
• Determining how predators cue in on bonefish following catch-and-release angling
• Examining the physiological response of bonefish to angling
• Assessing whether catch-and-release angling is compatible with fisheries management strategies, including marine protected areas
• Determining the effects of habitat disturbance on the population ecology of bonefish

Research Team

	Dr. Andy Danylchuk, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Eleuthera, Bahamas. Email: andydanylchuk@ceibahamas.org Sascha Danylchuk, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Eleuthera, Bahamas. Email: saschaclark@ceibahamas.org
	Dr. Steven Cooke, Institute of Environmental Science and Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Email: steven_cooke@carleton.ca Karen Murchie, Institute of Environmental Science and Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Email: kmurchie@connect.carleton.ca
	Dr. Tony Goldberg, Department of Pathobiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA. Email: tlgoldbe@uiuc.edu Dr. David Philipp, Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Aquatic Ecology and Conservation, Champaign, IL, USA. Email: philipp@uiuc.edu Jeff Koppelman, Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Aquatic Ecology and Conservation, Champaign, IL, USA. Email: koppej@msn.com

We would like to thank the following organizations for supporting our research:

Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited	Scientific Anglers
Fisheries Conservation Foundation	Temple Fork Outfitters Fly Rods