Scoring a discount on Skwala gear is great, but reduced prices aren’t the best part of the 2025 12 Days of Skwala Sale. This year, we’re giving 5% of the total retail price on all sale days to two organizations that protect fish and fisheries: Trout Unlimited and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
Skwala Supports The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust
The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust was founded in 1997 by six Florida flats anglers who were worried about their home state’s alarming decline in bonefish. Since then, BTT’s grown into a stalwart of effective, science-based conservation. They focus on understanding and protecting flats species—like bonefish, tarpon, and permit—and the complex ecosystems on which those fish depend. BTT's long list of accomplishments includes helping craft and implement Florida’s catch and release mandate for bonefish and tarpon; funding and overseeing groundbreaking research on permit, bonefish, and tarpon spawning to inform fishing regulations; and working with governments in Florida and throughout the Caribbean to understand and recognize the value of recreational fisheries.
You can read about the dozens of different studies and programs they are currently supporting on their website, but we want to tell you about a couple relatively new initiatives you may not have heard about.
Bahamas Mangrove Restoration Project
In September of 2019, Hurricane Dorian ripped through the northern Bahamas. In the aftermath of destructive storms, relief efforts rightly focus on the tragic loss of life and property. But hurricanes don’t only impact developments and communities; they can also decimate landscapes and ecosystems.
The mangroves of Grand Bahama and Abaco islands were particularly hard-hit by Dorian, which uprooted and killed large swaths of these native forests. Mangroves provide essential habitat for bonefish and other inshore species. They also serve as critical buffers against coastal erosion. Losing stands of mangroves puts Bahamian fisheries and communities at significant risk.
Working together with local fishing guides, lodges, high school students, and other volunteers, BTT’s Bahamas Mangrove Restoration Project has already surpassed its goal of planting 100,000 red mangrove trees in Grand Bahama and Abaco. They also cofounded the Bahamas Mangrove Alliance (BMA), a coalition of organizations committed to mangrove restoration that has pledged to plant 1 million trees by the end of 2026. In addition to planting trees, BTT and their partners are advocating for new policy measures to prevent mangrove loss and conserve mangroves across The Bahamas.
Shark Depredation Project
If you’ve spent much time fishing in the salt, you’ve likely paid the “tax man,” a euphemism for losing a fish to a shark. The technical term for sharks consuming fish that anglers hook, either while still attached to the line or after release, is “shark depredation.” Sharks have been collecting taxes from flats anglers forever, but in the last 20 years, the frequency of these interactions has increased exponentially, especially in South Florida.
The good news is that this increase reflects the success of recent efforts to protect shark populations. The bad news is that increasing shark depredation creates problems. Angler-shark interactions are not only frustrating, they’re also dangerous and could pose a potential threat to important fish stocks. BTT is trying to find solutions so anglers and sharks can coexist.
Last year, BTT kicked off The Shark Depredation Project by surveying inshore Florida anglers about areas with high levels of shark interactions. They followed that up by hosting a workshop for Keys fishing guides to get their input on the places with the highest rates of shark depredation. BTT researchers are using that information to create a map of shark hotspots. They’re also capturing sharks, sampling them, and tagging them, and asking anglers to report any sightings of tagged sharks.
The goal of BTT’s Shark Depredation Project is to identify ways for sharks and anglers to coexist. BTT will use the data they gather to work with resource managers and anglers to deploy science-backed solutions to mitigate shark depredation.
Healthier Fisheries = Better Fishing
The math is so simple, even a bunch of former fishing guides (like us) can do it. We hope you’ll take advantage of our limited 12 Days of Skwala Sale discounts to both get yourself great gear at an excellent price and help us make a meaningful contribution to fisheries conservation. But even if you don’t participate in this sale event, please consider donating to the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. They do the hard work so all of us can enjoy the benefits.