Florida Bay's Sonar Argument Is About Where Tarpon Rest

"Does it help people catch more fish? Yes," Islamorada charter captain Joey Murphy told Salt Water Sportsman this year. He was spot-locked off a blue-green Islamorada flat in his 25 Contender Bay, soaking mullet while big tarpon rolled off the stern. "But my thing is, I feel like it puts undue pressure on a species that is already being affected by so many factors. We don't want to pressure them to the point where they just don't return."

Murphy's answer is a common one on the water here. He grants that the technology works, and his concern is what it does to the fish. That second part is what the debate over forward-facing sonar in Florida Bay is about: whether tarpon still have anywhere in the bay to rest unseen. As of this week, no published park or state rule addresses it. On Friday, November 6, guides, anglers and scientists will discuss it in a room on Overseas Highway in Islamorada.

The Screen Finds the Fish That Were Never Going to Bite

Forward-facing sonar shows anglers individual fish 80 feet or more ahead of the transducer, in real time, almost like video. You can cast to a fish and watch how it reacts to the bait. Garmin's Panoptix, the first version, launched in 2015. According to Flylords, today's screens are detailed enough to tell species apart and to track a lure relative to a fish.

Freshwater anglers saw the effect first. Salt Water Sportsman reports that major bass tournaments limited forward-facing sonar after it "fundamentally changed the sport," and that some of the best anglers on tour were left behind in a single season.

Florida Bay has a particular reason to care, and it isn't the bigger catch counts. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust's April 23, 2026 statement explains that the technology tracks individual fish, "including those that are not actively feeding and not visible at the surface." For a long time, a tarpon that wasn't eating was effectively hidden. Sonar takes that away.

A Resting Tarpon Is the Point of the Bay

In the Flylords piece, Max Inchausti describes the Everglades backcountry beyond Flamingo as a place that holds tarpon of many sizes year-round. Large migratory fish move in at certain times of year to feed and rest before they migrate, and resident fish stay in the creeks and bays. He argues the fishing there is good because there is so little pressure. "If there's a tarpon in front of the transducer's beam," he writes, "any angler can find these resting fish."

Murphy makes the same point from the charter side. He worries that extra pressure could push tarpon out of Florida Bay, which he sees as a refuge during migration.

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust puts it more sharply:

"Forward-facing sonar has the potential to eliminate natural refuges that have historically limited fishing pressure. Tarpon holding deep or remaining inactive—behaviors that previously reduced their exposure to anglers—can now be detected and targeted. This is a fundamental shift in the balance between fish behavior and angling pressure, comparable to now prohibited practices in Boca Grande, Florida, that targeted non-feeding tarpon with jigs used for snagging."

The comparison to Boca Grande is pointed. Florida has already banned one method built on hooking tarpon that weren't feeding.

The second concern is sharks. Research supported by Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has found that sharks often gather around tarpon aggregations during peak seasonal periods. A hooked tarpon is tired and slow, so it's an easier target. The organization says the same pattern shows up with bonefish schools. Its reasoning is that more hookups mean more fish taken by sharks.

The organization also states that it "has not conducted direct studies on the effects of this technology on tarpon." It bases its position on existing research and ecology, and it compares the issue to spotter planes in bluefin tuna fishing, a practice now prohibited. It calls forward-facing sonar "a controllable source of additional stress" and asks for precautionary, science-informed management in Everglades National Park.

The Rulebook Has Not Caught Up

Everglades National Park sets its own on-water rules through the superintendent's compendium. The current compendium, last updated August 31, 2026, lists fishing rules and restrictions but nothing specific to forward-facing sonar. The FWC saltwater regulations index covers species and gear rules and doesn't list one either. The agency's current saltwater public-comment topics are African pompano, oysters, cownose rays and gag grouper.

The state's sonar research so far comes from fresh water. FWC researchers presented a 2026 abstract based on interviews with 20,043 anglers across 24 Florida waterbodies. Fifteen percent of those anglers used forward-facing sonar. On the three waters assessed, the researchers found no statistically significant difference in bass catch between sonar users and other anglers. At Lake Talquin, sonar users harvested more black crappie per hour. Bass and crappie in a lake tell us nothing about tarpon resting on a Florida Bay mud flat, and the study doesn't claim to.

So far, the push has come from anglers. Capt. Quinton Destout started a change.org petition on March 25, 2026, asking to outlaw forward-facing sonar within the park's boundaries. The petition page shows more than 1,600 verified signatures.

Plenty of Local Boats Run Sonar Too

It would be a mistake to read the debate as traditionalists against outsiders. Salt Water Sportsman notes that "inshore and off, most boats fish with some form of sonar these days." The same article says that in some situations, fishing without it "is the equivalent of wading around trying to stab fish with a stick." Murphy, who finds fish by reading bait and muds, says he doesn't begrudge colleagues who use every tool available to put paying clients on fish. At least one well-known Islamorada tarpon guide lists LiveScope among the electronics on his boat.

That's why the meeting matters. The people with the most at stake in Florida Bay are using this technology, choosing not to, and in some cases signing the petition against it.

November 6 at Safe Harbor Angler House

Andrew Jordan, a marine biology master's student at the University of Miami, is leading the project through his internship with Florida Bay Forever. He is bringing together guides, anglers, scientists and conservation groups to talk about how the technology may be affecting the bay and the fisheries the community depends on. Organizers say they aren't pushing a position and want "informed, respectful dialogue."

• When: Friday, November 6, starting at 5:30 p.m. Florida Bay Forever lists an 8:00 p.m. finish. The Florida Keys Free Press lists 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Safe Harbor Angler House, 80500 Overseas Highway, Islamorada.
• To take part: contact the project on Instagram at @forwardfacingsonar_event2026.

Florida Bay Forever also frames the issue around "fair chase," the idea that wildlife should have a reasonable chance to avoid being detected and pursued. A tarpon lying still in deep, tannic water used to have that chance by default. Whether it keeps it in Florida Bay is now a question for the guides, anglers and scientists in that room, and later for the park and the state.

I'm Pierre-Marc, and I've fished and windsurfed these waters since 2008. Florida Bay is one of the reasons people choose this part of the Keys, so I follow what happens to it. If you'd like to talk about the backcountry, the boat you'd keep here, or homes with direct access to the bay, you can reach me through Pierre-Marc Bellion. Sign up to Receive Exclusive Listings, and I'll pass along what comes out of the November 6 meeting too.