Congratulations 2022 Tag and Release
Award Recipients!
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We would like to thank Star Rods, Costa Del Mar, AFTCO, and the Guy Harvey Foundation for providing strong incentives for fishermen to tag and release small, healthy dolphinfish for the Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP) in 2022. These premier fishing tackle companies and sponsors of the DRP have shown their commitment to the conservation of this important fishery by donating top-quality equipment and art for incentive awards to encourage fishermen to assist the DRP. This year, we are distributing $5,315 worth of gear and art to 68 captains and their crews who collectively tagged and released 1,741 dolphin in 2022! When the value of our year-end awards is combined with additional tagging and recapture awards distributed in 2022, our program, through the support of our sponsors, distributed $9,465 worth of fishing gear and products to fishermen around the world as well as cash awards to international recapture reporters! A complete list of all 2022 award winners is below. Congratulations to our award winners!
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| Top Private Boat: Don Gates Killin' Time II - 323 Tagged
2nd Private Boat: Dane Dellenbach Knot Workin'- 52 Tagged
Top Charter Boat: Jimbo & Rick Thomas Thomas Flyer - 48 Tagged
2nd Charter Boat: Willie Howard Captain Willie's Charters - 32 Tagged
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| Top Boat in the SAB: Ed Kattel Cool Cat - 90 Tagged
2nd Boat in the SAB: Tim Heiser Irish Wake - 26 Tagged
Top Boat in the Tropics: Jeffrey Liederman Sandman - 71 Tagged
2nd Boat in the Tropics: Gary Marshall Wine Down - 50 Tagged
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| Top Boat in the GOM: Robert, Bo, and Thomas Feliniski Latitude Adjustment - 99 Tagged
2nd Boat in the GOM: No Qualifier - Needed 20 tagged and released to qualify
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| Top Captain with the Scouts - Matt Joyce - 30 Tagged
2nd Top Captain with the Scouts - Jared Schild - 20 Tagged
Notable Mentions for Tagging >=10 Dolphin (received shirts, hats, tags, and art):
Julien Brossel Madatet (29); Richard Maylon Grand Slam (25); Juandre Geldenhuys Yellowfin (25); Gary York Mag E III (23); Dwayne Sapp Busy Fishing (23); Colt Cook Hook N Cook (20); Chris Frost Lightning Strike (19); David Neblett Hit That and T2 (18); Charles Brooks Perfect Circle (17); Captain Sammy CVL Release (17); Luis Burgos CFA (15); Frank Betz Leviathan (14); Todd Floyd Nemenchas (12); Wilmer Sanchez The Big Deal (11); Daniel Kubiak Southern Run (11); Nelson De La Torre Billin' Office (10); Venture Scout (10)
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In an effort to increase data collection on dolphinfish in 2023, we are excited to announce that each month this year we will be offering a monthly tagging award to the top tagging vessel that tags and releases the most amount of dolphin in that particular calendar month. In addition, our regional Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) awards program, which we started in 2020 to increase data collection in the MAB, will continue in 2023 thanks to support from AFTCO. For more details about our awards program click here.
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Winner Announced in Year-End Raffle
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Congratulations to Louis Lassetter of Nevada for winning our year-end raffle of "Mahi Blue", a signed printed by Dr. Guy Harvey. Every person that donated or purchased program products during our year-end fundraising campaign from October 31, 2022, until December 31, 2022, was automatically entered into the raffle and Mr. Lassetter's name was randomly selected as the winner. Congrats Louie! You are going to love your new piece of artwork. A special thanks go out to the 56 individuals who donated to our year-end fundraising campaign as well as the Guy Harvey Foundation for providing us with this print to raffle.
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In partnership with Casa Vieja Lodge based in Puerto San Jose, Escuintla, Guatemala, the Guy Harvey Foundation, and sponsors of the Dolphinfish Research Program, six popup satellite archival transmitters were deployed this past month off Guatemala on dorado ranging in size from 39" to 43" fork-length. In addition, vessels Release, Spindrift, and Makaira participated to tag and release 20 more dorado with conventional plastic dart tags. This effort marks the beginning of a concerted effort to better understand the movements and life history patterns of dorado off Guatemala and contributes to ongoing research being conducted in eastern tropical Pacific Ocean by the DRP. To learn more about this research visit dolphintagging.com/etp.
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Help Fund Our 2023 Tagging Effort
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A special thanks to everyone who has contributed to our tagging program since the beginning of our 2022/2023 fundraising campaign. With your support, we were able to start 2023 strong and, to date, we have already shipped out 83 tagging kits. Our goal is to distribute 450 kits and 6,000 tags in 2023. While we have an operational budget to begin the year, we still need support to help us fund our online
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tagging map (click here), acquire additional satellite tags to deploy on adult dolphinfish and wahoo in 2023, as well as increase our tagging kit and education supplies to meet our growing demand for tagging kits. Our tagging program is at the forefront of educating anglers, advancing discussions and actions surrounding conservation of the species, and gathering additional data to help inform data-driven decision making at the state, federal, and international levels. Help the DRP expand in 2023. Click the icons below to shop or donate to support our program.
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