The recipient of the 2020 Flat Stewardship Award from the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust is Dr. Andy Danylchuk, Professor of Fish Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a BTT Research Fellow. He also serves as Director of the Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program; an Ambassador for Patagonia, Thomas and Thomas, and Sight Line Provisions; and is also a National Fellow of the Explorers Club.
Dr. Danylchuk has authored or co-authored more than 45 scientific publications focusing on flats species. They have included studies on catch and release, movement ecology and early observations of bonefish moving offshore to spawn. He is also the Principal Investigator on the BTT’s tarpon telemetry project, which is studying the population connectivity movements and habitat uses of 200 acoustically-tagged tarpon.
“We appreciate our partnership with Andy through his role as a collaborating scientist and Research Fellow,” said Jim DcDuffie. “The Tarpon Acoustic Tagging Project is rewriting the book on what was previously known about tarpon movement and will inform our efforts to further improve tarpon management.”
In addition to the research he conducts, McDuffie said Danylchuk was an effective communicator of the knowledge gained through science, using every opportunity available to him to share it with anglers, guides, resource managers and other stakeholders.
Text from outdoor journalist Kris Millgate, featured in the Bonefish & Tarpon Journal Fall 2020.
About the Award
The Flats Stewardship Award is presented to a scientist, angler or conservationist who has made significant contributions to the stewardship of flats species and habitats.
The official award ceremony will be at the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust International Symposium in 2021.