Welcome to BTT’s newest Youth Ambassador, Adler!
Living on the Indian River Lagoon, Adler has hooked up to juvenile tarpon and bonefish, as well as some sizeable snook. “Being a recreational and fly fisherman,” he says, “I really prioritize the conservation of all of the fish that I catch by carefully reviving them before release. I would like to protect these fish and the unique river that I am fortunate enough to live on.”
To learn more about Florida ecosystems, Adler has participated in programs including Sea Camp in the Florida Keys, the Environmental Study Center camp in Jensen Beach, and the Florida Oceanographic Center camp in Stuart, Florida. “They taught me how important it is to conserve fish life and how, if you remove one species, the whole chain crumbles,” Adler shares.
Adler recently attended a lecture on sawfish given at the Oceanographic Center (also available on Youtube). “Sawfish are very sensitive species and can react to the slightest changes in their environment,” he writes. “This can make them very vulnerable to global warming, toxins, bacteria, and pollution. There is a hotline dedicated to sawfish (1-844-4SAWFISH). If you see, hook, or catch a sawfish while fishing, it is very important to call the hotline as soon as possible. Sawfish are a critically endangered species and very little is known about them. It would be really sad to see them go extinct, and we should try to protect them.”
“As an extremely active angler, I love fishing and would be devastated if I could no longer fish,” Adler says. “This is why I want to conserve my local species and help BTT.”
