ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Businesses and families that rely on the Matanzas River for fish may notice a change in the number of redfish in the water, after thousands were released Tuesday morning during a restocking event.
‘Release the East’ is a restocking initiative started by the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida.
Leaders with the CCA says the redfish population is at dangerously low level and this restocking will not only help recreational anglers, but businesses that rely on the waterways to bring money into the local economy.
"Florida is the fishing capital of the world and these redfish are highly sought after. Hopefully they'll grow up and they'll eventually of off shore, they'll span and they'll continue the cycle," Brian Gorski, the executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida, said.
The redfish will repopulate a declining population that Patrick Morse and other anglers like him rely on to feed their families.
“It’s a huge piece of the economy from hotels restaurants, actual guides that are able to benefit from the visitors and then of course the locals want to enjoy food fishing too," said Morse.
The 15,000 hatchery-reared juvenile redfish released Tuesday were bred at the the Duke Energy Mariculture Center and average 4 inches in length.
“It’s going to take a little while for these little guys to grow up to be big enough for us to actually take them home, but I’m excited that the future’s bright and we should have great fishing here for years to come," said Morse.
The Coastal Conservation Association of Florida also restocks the waterways with aquatic plants and filter feeders like clams in an effort to protect the marine environment along the First Coast.