But evidence points to a steep drop in bonefish numbers in south Florida. Populations have fallen more than 50% over four decades, according to estimates by researchers.

Dr Jennifer Rehage, a fish ecologist and associate professor at Florida International University (FIU), has spoken to many anglers about the fish’s disappearance from Florida’s seagrass flats: “They’ve said to me: ‘I’ve fished [bonefish] all my life and I can’t find them. I haven’t seen a bonefish in five years, and it’s freaking me out’.”