Because it’s a small operation that packs a big punch, and it manages to be that way thanks to donations from people like you. With research partners around the world and tagging programmes in Florida, Mexico and Belize, the folks at BTT have broadened our understanding of flats species like no-one else before. Just take a few minutes to look through the BTT website – it’s a treasure trove of information, where you can access (free of charge) just about everything there is to know about bonefish, tarpon and permit.

Because they get stuff done. That’s the benefit of being a small organisation. People like bonefish guru Dr Aaron Adams are at the helm – people like you, who love fishing, love our fisheries and the fish that live in them, and want to make sure they’re safeguarded for future generations.

Because without BTT, there’s loads of incredible stuff we’d never have discovered. Like the fact that Florida Keys bonefish are worth an estimated $750,000 over their lifetime, and are capable of travelling colossal distances. Witness the 8lb bone caught by Brian Harris off South Andros in 2006 – a fish previously caught and tagged in the Florida Keys (186 miles away) 10 months before. Our understanding of these movements is key to building a framework to help protect tomorrow’s fish.

There’s still a lot to learn though – for example, there has never been a stock assessment of Florida permit (though BTT’s 5-year Project Permit initiative is working hard to remedy that), and as the folks at BTT say: “Considering their immense popularity as game fish, it is amazing how little is actually known about bonefish, tarpon, and permit. But with each year we are learning more, and applying this new knowledge to conservation, with the goal of keeping healthy populations strong and restoring populations that have declined.”

Because you should. OK, perhaps that sounds a bit po-faced, but it’s true. If you fish for permit, bonefish and tarpon, you have a responsibility to be an active steward of the fishery you love – the days of showing up on the flats, getting your fish on, then leaving it all behind and expecting it to be just the way you left it the next time you show up… those days are over. The work done by the BTT is essentially a crystallisation of what we should all be doing; working to support, protect and nurture the fisheries we all benefit from. Joining BTT is the simplest and most effective way to start making a difference.