Last year, Captain Ron Teke and his fishing team, Colorado Magic, requested a sleeve of 50 tags. Part of their motivation to receive this many tags was that they were determined to become 2019's top tagging private boat and beat the reigning champions, the Killin Time II fishing team, who fish offshore just down the road in the Lower Keys. Although they fell short of winning the coveted dolphin tagging award, little did they know that their drive to win and consequential uptick in tagging activity would result not only in a milestone recovery for the program but their second and most significant recovery since they began tagging for the Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP) in 2004. In addition, Captain Teke's fish, reported by Captain Vickram Dindyal while fishing a FAD northeast of Barbuda on March 4th, 2020, represents the third recovery to the Tropical Atlantic in the last 15 months for the DRP.
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Click on the images above to examine similar recoveries in the Tropical Atlantic recorded for the DRP since December 2018. Similar to the other recoveries, Captain Teke's fish grew 30" in 265 days, which equates to a weekly growth rate of .79". These observations show the movement of dolphin biomass from the U.S. East Coast to the Tropical Atlantic / Northeastern Caribbean Sea in 9 to 11 months. All three recoveries were dolphin that ranged between 16" and 24" fork length, were released during summertime off the Keys, grew to tackle testing adult fish, and were recaptured during winter in the Tropical Atlantic. These recoveries also indicate anglers' drive to tag small dolphin, which is likely motivated by the intrigue of this species and also a little competitive spirit to tag fish for the DRP in order to reveal aspects of the life history of dolphin not previously known to science. To read more about these recoveries click here. To get invovled click here and to support our work click here.
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Tropic Star Lodge Dolphinfish Research Program Update
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In November 2018, the Beyond Our Shores Foundation (BOSF) began work to expand the Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP) to the Tropic Star Lodge (TSL) in southwestern Panama. This work continues today and is funded in part by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF). This research is one component of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape (ETPS) project which is a partnership between GHOF, the Guy Harvey Research Institute, Nova Southeastern University and TSL. The objective of the ETPS project is to tag and collect migratory data from three species of billfish (sailfish, blue and black marlin) in the Pacific Ocean in order to shed light on the differences between the habitat use of the three species. In addition, the project aims to collect migratory data on sharks, rooster fish, and dolphinfish. In terms of dolphinfish and our involvement in the ETPS project, through mid-March 2020, a total of 500 dolphin have been tagged and released by 21 vessels and approximately 154 anglers. This effort has led to the recovery of 14 dolphinfish in the EPO and the deployment of eight pop-up satellite archival transmitters. In this month's newsletter, we provide an overview of the information already generated from the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation-funded effort at TSL. We hope you find this information interesting. Click here to read more. To get involved click here and to support our work click here.
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Support the DRP - Buy Gear in our Shop
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Participation in the DRP helps collect information on many research objectives. Greater tagging activity helps boost data collection, and in 2019, anglers tagged the 3rd highest amount of dolphin ever for the program. To date in 2020, we have distributed 89 tagging kits. Request your kit today to help us maximize data collection in 2020. Click here to request a kit. This year we are excited to include two circle hook jigs, provided by Bird of Prey Fishing Tackle, in every kit to promote the use of circle hooks while trolling, sight-casting, or bailing dolphin. To purchase a kit to support the DRP, click here.
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The Beyond Our Shores Foundation is the official 501(c)(3) founded to support and expand the DRP. In 2020, we are working to surpass 30,000 tagged dolphin for the program. Help us exceed this significant milestone by supporting our tagging program. Your donation will advance the expansion of the DRP, a leader in the conservation and research of dolphin, by helping to purchase more tags to distribute to anglers, support our education programs, and improve fisheries data collection among recreational, for-hire, and small-scale commercial fishermen. Click here to donate today.
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