Tarpon Tag Sales Benefit Bay Mini-Grants

More than $1.5 million in Bay Mini-Grants have been awarded to community groups across Tampa Bay since the program was established in 1998 with funds raised through the sale of the Tampa Bay Estuary specialty license tag — most commonly known as the "Tarpon Tag."

The Tarpon Tag is the only marine tag where all the funds raised stay in the Tampa Bay area, notes Dave Moore, program development director for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. "The colorful new tags, including the manatee, turtle and dolphin tags, support state-wide programs but the Tarpon Tag money stays right here."

As the economy has declined, so have sales of the tag, forcing TBEP to cut maximum amount of the mini-grants from $7,500 to $5,000. A bill in the legislature now will raise the donation for the tag from $15 to $25.

"They've been $15 since 1999 when they were first introduced and now we're one of only 15 tags that cost just $15," he said. "We have a core group of about 8,000 plateholders so raising the cost will bring in about $65,000 per year."

Since the donation is a small part of the overall cost of the tag, most people probably won't even notice that the cost has gone up, he adds.

Nearly all of the TBEP's revenues goes directly to the Bay Mini-Grants. Funds directed to the Agency on Bay Management are primarily used to publish Bay Soundings.