Episode 94: Dr. Ross Boucek - The Mad Fish Scientist

It’s all Tom McGuane’s fault… He’s the culprit who gave Robert
Redford the book! Redford loved it, and his film, “A River Runs
Through It” indelibly changed everything about fly fishing. Most
offensive has been the amount of people around the world we’re now
seeing on every body of water. Good for them, actually. Fishing is
one of the most important, life changing things we could ever
allocate a great amount of our lives to. The down side is the
pressure on the fishery, whether it be saltwater speedsters or
critters in the fresh. On today's podcast, we visit with Bonefish
Tarpon Trust's scientist, Dr. Ross Boucek who is the Florida Keys
Initiative Manager studying the spectrum of elements that
constitute a healthy resource. Ross is a second-generation South
Floridian. He grew up fishing for tarpon and snook out of
Everglades City. Ross earned his Masters and Doctoral degrees at
Florida International University, studying how weather events, such
as hurricanes, droughts, and extreme cold events, impact
sport-fishes in Florida Bay and Everglades National Park. After his
schooling, he worked for Florida Fish and Wild Conservation
Commission, researching fish movements and migrations, and applying
that information to conservation actions. Now based in Marathon,
Ross spends most of his time in the Keys, either conducting BTT
science, or working with anglers, and management agencies to turn
BTT science into meaningful management and regulatory changes that
improve our Keys fishery. When you listen to Ross, he defines all
the issues and concerns with incredible knowledge, insight and
clarity.