Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Fish For Tomorrow’s Southern Flounder Hatchery

North Carolina's population of southern flounder has really been suffering the past several years due primarily to overfishing. A new organization, Fish For Tomorrow, hopes to be able to help North Carolina's flounder population get on the fast track to recovery. Last year the non-profit organization held its inaugural Fish For Tomorrow Flounder Tournament. What makes this tournament unique is that all flounder were weighed live and were saved for the foundation of their flounder hatchery in UNC Wilmington's Wrightsville Beach facility. We had the privilege of talking to Tim Barefoot, the founder of Fish For Tomorrow, at this year's Bass and Saltwater Expo in Raleigh and his enthusiasm for the future of the hatchery is nothing short of contagious. Fish For Tomorrow estimates that producing and releasing millions of flounder fingerlings (4-5 inches long) into the wild will have a tremendous effect on the NC southern flounder population within just five years. In addition to helping restore North Carolina's flounder numbers, Tim also explained that the knowledge gained from this flounder hatchery could translate into commercial flounder hatcheries along the coast. These hatcheries would provide a significant economic boost to coastal communities and offer lucrative income alternatives to commercial fishermen. Fish For Tomorrow is currently accepting both financial donations and donations of live flounder so be sure to help them out if you can.

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