Highlights from Tom Twyford's Presentation at the Lake Worth Lagoon Symposium

You know, my favorite presentation of the Symposium held in May was Tom Twyford's. If you have been around here a while, you might remember Tom from his segments he did for Channel 12 News called "Tight Lines". He's the Executive Director of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, which was founded in 1934.

His presentation gave a great historical perspective on the importance of recreational fishing to the area's early development and quality of life. His pictures clearly showed the popularity of this pastime. It made me realize that due to misuse and abuse of this resource - through run-off from the C-51 canal, sewage outfalls, etc. we essentially eliminated recreational fishing as part of what our region has to offer. The good news is that fishing is coming back, especially around areas that have been enhanced or restored with Mangroves (our Snook Islands being a prime example).

What I want to do here is present the essence of his talk with some of the images he used. I'll make some commentary here and there. Below is the abstract of his presentation: