COBIA RELEASE License Plate Project #putoneback

Our ”One Gulf One Goal Foundation” has a proposal to increase the Cobia stocks in the Gulf. We propose a special Cobia conservation license plate for your car. When you get your car tag, you’ll pay an additional $31. You’ll not only get the special Cobia artwork on your tag that will tell folks you support this incredibly important effort, but the $31 will go directly to the “Cobia Release Project”. That money will buy one fingerling Cobia in your name and enough food to raise it to 8 to 10 inches with a cheek tag in the fish! These fish will be tank raised and then released into the Gulf 6 to 8 months later! When you buy your special Cobia Conservation car tag, you will also get a certificate with the cheek tag number on it of YOUR fish. This program must first be approved by the Mississippi legislature. We are working on a legislative plan now. After it gets approved, we need to sell at least 300 license plates to get this program off the ground.

The outcry for this depleting fishery is gulf wide from the Keys through the panhandle of Florida and Alabama and into our Great state of Mississippi’s waters. Let’s take the lead on this and make it happen for everyone in the gulf for our tourism and the recreational fishermen and commercial charter fishermen that depend on fishing to feed their families!

We all know the numbers of Cobia fisherman continues to increase, while the number of big females critical to the Cobia population continues to decline. It doesn’t take a marine biologist to conclude that this is a losing situation for the Cobia fishery. There is a growing concern for this fishery in all of the Gulf states. Mississippi will lead the way!

The beauty of this purposed project is that because you renew your Cobia Conservation license plate each year, the funding will always be there for this important project! The blueprint is there - we can do it again! But we need to join forces. When the legislation passes to crank up this this program, the money will be earmarked directly back to our Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

We do not feel that the answer is enlarging length size and or reducing creel limit to one person per day per boat or close the season all together! They have already lowered it to two per boat per day in Florida. Please sign if you would like to come on board to help in this effort so your children and your children’s Children can enjoy this fishery the way you have in the past! This was a rich fishery at one time and there was enough for everyone let’s bring this fishery back to a healthy state!

Lastly, we’ll be working with our friends in neighboring Gulf states to start similar programs there. It’s going to be an exciting journey that we will see positive results from.

I want to thank you for your friendship. You know how passionate I am about our Gulf waters and, especially, our Cobia fishery. I’ve committed my life to helping raise awareness to this incredible God-given gift we
have right here at our front door. Thank you for your passion. And God bless you!

“One Gulf One Goal”
Marty Wilson
Amber Figueroa