Orvis to bring fishing groups to Cuba in 2016

Orvis to bring fishing groups to Cuba in 2016
POSTED 11:21 PM, MAY 5, 2016, BY CNN WIRE

The inlets and tranquil waters of the Bay of Pigs are considered a
sacred place in Cuba.

It was here in 1961 that Fidel Castro fought back a US-supported
invasion force, a victory that cemented his rule.

The nearby 300,000-hectare Ciénaga de Zapata National Park is a pristine
ecosystem that has largely been off limits to US anglers until now.

On Friday, Orvis, one of the largest fly fishing outfitters in the
world, will announce that it will begin guided trips to the island in
2016. The company, which does more than $340 million a year in sales, is
the first major US sporting company to do business on the island.

"There's few places out there where the resource has been put first and
foremost, and when that happens the fishing is excellent and Cuba's a
perfect example of that," said Simon Perkins, Orvis' senior manager of
adventures and hunting.

Perkins, whose family has owned and run Orvis since 1965, said Cuba's
pristine natural environment and improving US-Cuban relations present
anglers with a unique opportunity to fish in a country only just now
opening to US companies and visitors.

In addition to guiding fishing, Perkins said, the company will take
clients to meet Cuban artists and musicians to showcase the island's
culture.

Orvis' announcement comes the same month other companies have started
showing a Cuban presence. For instance, Carnival Corporation sailed the
first US cruise ship to the island in nearly 40 years. And French
fashion company Chanel hosted the first large-scale fashion show in
Havana since the 1959 revolution.

US law still prohibits Americans from going to the communist-run island
as tourists, but since the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba
in 2015, the Obama administration has relaxed rules on travel and doing
business there.

In order to get to the area where Orvis will take its clients, visitors
drive past individual markers where soldiers died in 1961 while fighting
CIA-trained Cuban exiles.

"This is where the mercenaries arrived," reads a massive billboard near
the site.

Despite the decades of poisoned relations between the US and Cuba, local
fishing guide Felipe Rodríguez Alonso said he welcomes the arrival of a
large American company like Orvis.

"They are the symbol of fly fishing in the whole world," Rodríguez said.
"To have them here, their clients, their anglers. It's a way for us to
learn more about the fishing and the conservation. At the same time they
have the top of the technology."

Rodríguez said increased interest in the area from US anglers will
improve the local economy. He said he has already started to give
classes to Cuban children to learn about fly fishing and guiding.

Park officials only let eight anglers fish at any one time, Rodríguez
said, and access to the park will continue to be limited.

"We don't want 100 people fishing in the same spot. We want a few people
doing well and at the same time preserving the area," Rodríguez said.

Perkins said the company only practices catch and release fishing, and
that it will begin donating money to groups doing conservation work in Cuba.

Orvis gives 5% of its pre-tax profits to groups in the US and abroad
that help to protect the environment, Perkins said.

The funds from Orvis will go a long way on an island where financial
difficulties mean research is often done on a shoestring budget, said
Aaron Adams of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust — an organization that works
with Cuban scientists to study and preserve Cuba's unique environment.

"Science is not cheap," Adams said. "Just getting our Cuban colleagues
access to rental cars so they can go and do research is just one part of
the cost."

At the same time, Adams said Americans will learn more about Cuban
efforts to maintain the island's protected areas despite a booming
tourism sector.

While their clients will come to Cuba for the fishing, Perkins said he
hopes they will also connect with the Cuban people and culture.

"Its something that's instilled in us, which is you use a fly rod to
find amazing places, amazing species, amazing people. That's what the
tool has become for all of us," Perkins said.

Source: Orvis to bring fishing groups to Cuba in 2016 | Q13 FOX News -
http://q13fox.com/2016/05/05/orvis-to-bring-fishing-groups-to-cuba-in-2016/