Letter from Tim Lycke

When I was a kid growing up in South Florida, I was always on the water and fishing almost every day, not just fishing but catching. Fish of all species were abundant at that time. This was even true a bunch of years later when I began the fish business almost 40 years ago. But today, as we know, is a totally different story. All fish stocks are severely depleted and many are on life support. The simple fact is fisheries are disappearing fast. Without action, the fish for both commercial and recreational fishermen will vanish. Two things we know for sure is that this is a problem worldwide and it is, thankfully, reversible. Action taken today will yield positive results tomorrow. I am proud to announce that myself and all the Incredible Fish family have made a firm commitment to do everything necessary to preserve fishing as we know it for generations to come.

Our world population clearly needs FIPs to protect and sustain our fisheries. Years of mismanagement and inappropriate fishing methods have taken their toll. (Fish traps, gill nets, sizing the harvest and illegal gear are just parts of the problem). I am very concerned about the fishing methods, lack of information and the sustainability of the resources in our industry. In the meantime we will work diligently to make changes by moving forward with supporting several Fishery Improvement Projects. For many years now we have stopped buying any and all net fish while also ceasing all purchase and importation of species that do not meet size requirements. We will also look very closely at long lining methods and boycott any that are detrimental to the fishery. I want to ask and challenge you to do the same; it’s our responsibility as providers to the industry and the world.

As this letter demonstrates myself and the Incredible Fish family are fully committed to sustainability and FIPs as a means to achieve this goal. We would like as many of you as possible to join in this effort. It is not an easy task. We not only need commitment, but we also need financial support.

If you would like to talk about the Fishery Improvement Projects or Sustainable Fisheries, please drop me an email at Timl@incrediblefish.com. In the meantime, stop and think about the products you’re buying and do your part to protect them, it’s your job…

Regards,

Timothy S. Lycke
President, Incredible Fish

Tim Letter Picture