In 2018, we launched an awards program to recognize the dedicated fishermen who volunteer and participate in our fish aggregating device (FAD) research. While these awards certainly do not serve as the primary reason for fishermen to volunteer in this research, they do provide a little added inspiration to go that extra mile for the program.  We presented awards to dedicated captains who provided our team with catch and effort reports for nearly every outing they embarked upon.  To qualify for an award, anglers must have embarked on at least 30 outings and provided catch reports for no less than 80% of their outings in the calendar year and/or tagged and released 20 small dolphinfish at the FAD.  In 2018, ten captains qualified in Puerto Rico, and they each received a custom handcrafted 6′ conventional standup Star Rod, one of the industry’s top fishing rods.  This year, we will offer rod and other fishing equipment awards, and it is our hope that this awards program demonstrates our genuine appreciation to fishermen for volunteering to compile FAD data in the U.S. Caribbean Sea.  Data collected and compiled in this component of our FAD research program will provide insight into a host of fisheries science and related socioeconomic topics.  Click here to get involved.