Nearly six years ago to the day, we began a concerted effort to tag and release dolphinfish throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP). Funded by the Guy Harvey Foundation, the primary goal of our effort was to begin to describe the species movements, growth, and connectivity patterns among the region's countries. Thanks to the help and support from Tropic Star Lodge, Casa Vieja Lodge, sponsors and supporters of our group, and several dedicated anglers who travel with and use our tags in the region, we have had 977 fish tagged and 29 recoveries generated from the Southern California Bight to Ecuador. Today, we are happy to release a dedicated ETP Tag and Release Map which can be found on our ETP results page (Click here for that resource). Additionally, we recently presented our preliminary results in the ETP at the Latin America and Caribbean Fisheries Congress held by the American Fisheries Society in Cancun, Mexico. Below is the video summary we presented that showcases our work conducted to date. With summer south swells filling in throughout the ETP, warmer offshore waters with dolphinfish will be moving north. If you fish off Baja California, Mexico, or San Diego/Orange County, California, please request a tagging kit to participate in and contribute to our growing knowledge base on this species in the ETP. Click here to request a free kit.
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Satellite Tag Deployed off
South Carolina
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With support from the Florence Blue Water Fishing Club, Uncle B's Outdoors, and vessel owner Wade Harper and his Son, Jack Harper, our program successfully deployed a popup satellite archival transmitter (PSAT), aboard Run-A-Wade, on a 43" bull on May 5th, 2023, off Georgetown, South Carolina. The purpose of this satellite tag deployment, sponsored by Muller Insurance, was to gather detailed vertical movement diving behavior for adult male dolphinfish along the U.S. East Coast. This deployment marks our 9th PSAT deployment along the U.S. East Coast and 83rd overall on dolphinfish throughout our program's history. The movement record obtained from this bull will be combined with twelve other data records obtained in the Atlantic and compared to a growing database on the vertical movements of this species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP). Check out the video below which highlights our recent satellite tag deployment. An angler aboard this outing requested that we dedicate this PSAT deployment in honor of Theron Vernon Elliot who went home to be with the lord at the age of 82 on, Sunday, April 30, 2023, and was laid to rest Thursday, May 4, 2023. “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.- Thomas Campbell” Swim on Theron, swim on!
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Tag Kit and Shirt Purchases Help Support Our Work
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Support Our 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 228 tagging kits this year. Of those, nine 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 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 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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