Another Satellite Tag Goes Full Interval
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Photo: Chris Whitley @chriswhitley.fish
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While satellite tags are expensive, they remain one of the principal ways to collect movement data on marine and terrestrial animals independent of direct human contact. The founder of the Dolphinfish Research Program, Don Hammond, deployed the first satellite tag on a dolphinfish for our program on June 4, 2005. During his tenure, he deployed fourteen satellite tags, with the majority released using the traditional harpoon method whereby a tag is inserted into the muscle of the fish with a forceful but controlled jab. Hammond was concerned about the harpoon method being detrimental to the survival of the fish and ultimately leading to lower tag retention. Consequently, he began experimenting with a new method that required more time with and care of the fish. He coined the new technique the "thread-through" method in which the tag was essentially buttoned to the fish. Results from his first five attempts from 2006 through 2008 using the thread-through method, however, did not reveal any differences in survival or retention time on the fish versus the harpoon method. Then, in 2011, we successfully implemented the thread-through method aboard Missing Angel on a 43" bull but introduced in-water recovery for the fish and the bull carried the tag for our program's first full monitoring period. Further modifications were made to the method and, as a result, better results were obtained, including a tag carried for six months, and most recently, three months. Below is the list of 20 tags deployed by vessels participating in our program that either surfaced after hitting full interval or were recaptured by an angler with the tag still attached to the fish. While the tags below only represent 25% of our satellite tag movement dataset, if we include premature detachments of greater than a week, which is our lowest preset monitoring period, the percentage more than doubles and the average retention per tag equates to 27 days. For a species that sits in the middle of the pelagic food web, we feel this method we continue to refine and improve is helping to reveal more information on dolphinfish per satellite tag deployed as well as serve as a distinct contribution to wildlife monitoring. Click here to learn more about our satellite tagging program. Interested in sponsoring a satellite tag? Click here to sponsor our tagging program.
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| | Rank | Tagging Vessel | Deployment Loc | Set Interval | Days | Status | | 1 | My Three Sons | South Carolina | 180 | 182.7 | Full Interval | | 2 | Release | Guatemala Pacific | 90 | 91.125 | Full Interval | | 3 | Yadimar | Caribbean Sea | 180 | 55.83 | Recaptured Retrieved | | 4 | Missing Angel | Caribbean Sea | 30 | 30.38 | Full Interval | | 5 | Missing Angel | Caribbean Sea | 30 | 30.25 | Full Interval | | 6 | Miss Darien | Guatemala Pacific | 30 | 30.18 | Full Interval | | 7 | Miss Puerto Rico | Panama Pacific | 30 | 30.03 | Full Interval | | 8 | Tiburon | Caribbean Sea | 30 | 30.39 | Full Interval | | 9 | Miss Texas | Panama Pacific | 90 | 28 | Recaptured Unk | | 10 | Lalooli | Caribbean Sea | 90 | 20.97 | Recaptured Retrieved | | 11 | Lalooli | Caribbean Sea | 14 | 14.24 | Full Interval | | 12 | Miss Texas | Panama Pacific | 180 | 13.5 | Recaptured Unk | | 13 | Miss Darien | Panama Pacific | 20 | 12 | Recaptured Unk | | 14 | Miss Darien | Panama Pacific | 30 | 11.5 | Recaptured Retrieved | | 15 | CFA | Tropical Atlantic | 10 | 9.95 | Full Interval | | 16 | CFA | Tropical Atlantic | 10 | 9.95 | Full Interval | | 17 | CFA | Tropical Atlantic | 10 | 9.75 | Full Interval | | 18 | Painkiller | South Carolina | 10 | 9.78 | Full Interval | | 19 | Release | Guatemala Pacific | 90 | 9.125 | Recaptured Unk | | 20 | Tiz Tiz | Panama Pacific | 90 | 2 | Recaptured Unk | | |
Major U.S. Dolphin Management Update
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Photo: Jeff Brehm @jeff_b_images
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A significant step forward in the management and conservation of dolphin in the Western Central Atlantic (WCA) has been taken by the U.S. Caribbean Fisheries Management Council (CFMC). In their recent meeting, the Council identified a 24” minimum length and 10 per person / 32 per vessel limit a day for St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John as selected alternatives for moving forward with the development of Amendment 3 to their Fisheries Management Plan for pelagics. There was also strong support for adding those alternatives back into the amendment for Puerto Rico, which would establish uniform regulations across the entire area managed by the CFMC. Currently, the only recreational regulation in these jurisdictions is a daily vessel limit of 30 for Puerto Rico. This is a major step forward for the conservation and management of the WCA dolphin stock considering Puerto Rico and the USVIs constitute the second highest amount of recorded recreational landings in the WCA according to our published research last year. Click here for more.
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April Guatemala Conventional Tag Recovery
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Our 39th conventional recovery in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) occurred on April 13th, 2023. A commercial angler reported the fish and received a small cash reward for providing the capture details. The bull was tagged and released by Mr. Paolo Coen and his friend Ivan on January 8th, 2023, fishing aboard A-Fin-Ity. Mr. Coen reported a fork-length of 47". The reporter estimated the fish was 49" when recovered. One of the important aspects of this recovery is that it shows 2" of growth after 95 days at liberty for an older fish. This record will help improve our growth model for dolphinfish. In addition, the fish was recovered along the continental shelf, which is similar to 3 of 4 satellite tag movements recently acquired from our work in Guatemala. This latest recovery is our 3rd recovery within Mexico's Pacific waters. Click here to learn more.
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April Panama Conventional Tag Recovery
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Our 38th conventional recovery in the ETP occurred this past month on April 6th, 2023. The reporter received a small cash reward for the report. Of all conventional recoveries acquired in the ETP to date, 34 have originated from tags deployed with the assistance of Tropic Star Lodge. Even though this fish did not have a recorded size when released, it still provides a valuable movement record of a large bull dolphin off Panama that remained or revisited the area after nearly four months at large. This is the third longest time at large for a fish tagged and recovered in Panama. The other two were for dolphin recaptured in the same general area as this fish but after 391, and 403, days. Click here to learn more about our research in the ETP.
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Buy a Tagging Kit or Shirt to Support Our Work
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Support Our Growing Fisheries Research NonProfit
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Over five years ago, we formed the Beyond Our Shores Foundation (BOSF) to build the Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP) in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We also formed the BOSF to continue and grow our work on fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the U.S. Caribbean Sea. Our attention to both programs has led to new published studies, additional information for dolphin and FAD management, enhanced angler participation, and ongoing data collection in Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. We have also expanded our work on new species (wahoo and yellowfin tuna) and fishery topics (submerged FADs). While this work has been met with steady growth in our donor base, tagging program, and fishery research nonprofit, as well as new program sponsors, we need more support to continue. As of today, we have shipped out 177 tagging kits this year. Of those, eight were wahoo tagging kits. In 2023, our goal is to distribute 450 kits and 6,000 tags. Last year, we distributed 6,763 tags in 501 kits to 399 anglers in 12 nations. You can help us achieve and exceed our 2023 goal by supporting our work. Your funds can also help fulfill our desire to implement a conventional tagging component for small wahoo throughout the western central Atlantic Ocean as well as continue to provide data collection at FADs in the U.S. Caribbean Sea. Help
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support our work by purchasing a kit, shirt, or making a tax-deductible donation via the links below. Thank you for your support!
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