WRITTEN BY
Since 1997, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has been fighting for clean, healthy flats fisheries and the conservation of bonefish, tarpon, permit, and their habitats. Back in 2023, we teamed up with the Florida nonprofit to help them plant over 10,000 mangroves in The Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian. This year, we’re proud to partner with them again on an exclusive run of sun hoodies, with all proceeds going to BTT and their mangrove restoration efforts. Each hoodie features a custom bonefish design by Miami-based angler and artist, Jorge Martinez.
Mangrove Restoration in The Bahamas
In 2019, Hurricane Dorian devastated The Bahamas as the most intense tropical cyclone to hit the area. The Category 5 hurricane leveled the islands’ red mangrove forests—which not only protect the islands from storm surges, sea level rise, and coastal erosion, but provide vital habitats for bonefish and other species. Mangroves also play a vital role in climate change, storing three to four times more carbon than other tropical forests.
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has been hard at work over the past six years, aiming to restore these mangrove forests along with the flats fisheries that have a huge economic impact on the area. (Bonefishing generates $169 million annually for the Bahamian economy.) By working with local communities and nonprofits like the Perry Institute for Marine Science, Waterkeepers Bahamas, and Friends of the Environment, BTT has already planted 115,000 mangroves in the hardest hit areas—and is on track to plant 1 million trees on Grand Bahama Island and Abaco.
This Giving Tuesday, we’ve teamed up with them on an exclusive sun hoodie with custom bonefish design, and every hoodie purchase will go towards supporting these mangrove restoration efforts. The mangrove trees are planted by volunteers, students, and Bahamian fishing guides, whose livelihoods rely on the health of these local fisheries. In 2023, Free Fly helped plant 10,000 mangrove trees—and we’re proud to keep working with Bonefish & Tarpon Trust to get these communities back on their feet.
Meet the Artist: Jorge Martinez
Based out of Miami, FL, Jorge Martinez specializes in marine sporting art. Inspired by his lifelong obsession with the pursuit of great gamefish, he brings those experiences to life on canvas—capturing the thrill of the catch with his incredible oil and acrylic paintings.
His works have been used as trophies in some of the fishing world’s most prestigious tournaments, including the Golden Fly Tournament, Goldcup Tarpon Tournament, and the Del Brown Permit Fly Tournament—a testament to his skill as both an artist and an angler. He’s also collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Mavericks Boats, Nautilus Reels, and Costa Del Mar, to name a few.
When he’s not busy being a parent with his wife Lori, to Mia and Miles, Jorge can usually be found in his shed out back painting, working on swimbaits, or flirting with catastrophe experimenting with molten hot rubber. Best case scenario: he's fishing.
