Southern Miss to Host Fly Fishing Film Tour
Fri, 09/06/2024 - 04:38pm | By: Gabriela Shinskie
Photo by Nick Price
The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will host the 18th annual Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) 2024 showing on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) in Ocean Springs, Miss. Doors open at 2 p.m. The viewing showcases spectacular fly fishing films from across the globe with an aim to support conservation efforts and community support.
With proximity and focus on Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, Southern Miss researchers hope to spark interest in these efforts. Dr. Kelly Darnell, Director of GCRL, continues to seek opportunities for USM to partner with local communities to promote ongoing research.
“This film showcases one of CFRD’s many projects and productive collaborations. We look forward to welcoming members of the community to GCRL to watch this film and to hear firsthand from our scientists about their research,” said Darnell.
USM’s Center for Fisheries Research and Development (CFRD) partnered with the Costa Marlin Fly Project to feature the film, where Dr. Jim Franks, Senior Research Scientist, and Jeremy Higgs, CFRD Assistant Director, are part of the project team. Higgs will discuss his work with the project, along with other billfish scientists and community partners.
“Being selected as one of the films included in the F3T 2024 really highlights the importance and success of the Costa Marlin Fly Project. In a 24-hour window, our team accomplished a first for billfish research by deploying satellite tags on striped marlin caught on the fly,” said Higgs.
Photo by Nick Price
The Costa Marlin Fly Project took place in December 2022 off Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico, as a Community X Conservation Project to better understand and examine striped marlin caught on the fly. Owing to the growing fly fishing interest in striped marlin, researchers set out to better understand the fishery impact on this species and how to protect its population. Costa leads this collaborative project, which consists of Costa Pros, the San Carlos community, conservation organizations, and billfish scientists from USM-CFRD, the Billfish Foundation, and the International Game Fish Association. All successfully deployed 15 satellite tags in under 24 hours. This film documents the excursion and success of the Marlin Fly Project.
The event is free. Registration is required to guarantee a seat.
Click here to learn more about the Costa Marlin Fly Project and its mission to foster relationships and support for a prosperous ecosystem.