2020 DRP Tag and Release Award Winners:
We would like to thank Star Rods, AFTCO, and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation for providing strong incentives for fishermen to tag and release small, healthy, dolphinfish for the Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP) in 2020. 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 $2,500 worth of gear and art to 15 captains and their crews who collectively tagged and released 960 dolphin! To see what each top tagger won for their 2020 tagging effort, click on their name below. Congratulations to our 2020 top taggers!
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- Top Boat Tagging in the Tropics: Gary Marshall Wine Down
- 2nd Boat Tagging in the Tropics: No Qualifier
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- Top Boat Tagging in the GOM: Bob Feliniski Latitude Adjustment
- 2nd Boat Tagging in the MAB: No Qualifier
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- Notable Mentions for Tagging More Than 10 Dolphin:
Frank Betz Leviathan; Tim & Michelle Heiser Irish Wake; Wilmer Sanchez The Big Deal; Phillippe Louchez Sailfish
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To qualify for the DRP year-end awards, a vessel needs to tag and release and submit at least 20 dolphinfish tag deployment reports to the DRP by 12.31.2021. This year, we are also offering monthly tagging awards, recapture awards, and free tee shirts for any angler or captain that tags at least 10 dolphin. We are also continuing our regional MAB tagging awards program. Tag some dolphin this year to increase data collection on this species and we will reward you for your effort!
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| Dolphin/Wahoo Amendment 10 Update
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Dolphin/Wahoo Amendment 10 Webinar during
SAFMC's March Council Meeting
Webinar Registration at Link Below:
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A special thanks to the 281 anglers and/or organizations that submitted comments to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) regarding their preferred alternatives and actions for changes to Amendment 10 and the U.S. Atlantic Coast Dolphin/Wahoo fishery management plan. While the SAFMC introduces some key conservation measures to help alleviate the growing pressures on dolphin, within the draft amendment, there is no discussion of expanding size limits along the U.S. Atlantic coast to ensure more dolphinfish reach maximum reproductive output before being harvested or requiring the use of circle hooks while bailing for dolphin. Furthermore, there is no discussion of expanding conservation measures, including size, vessel, or bag limits, to the Gulf of Mexico, a location that feeds dolphin to the Florida Keys and U.S. Atlantic coast. The SAFMC has opened a new public comment period so NOW is your time to provide your comments to the SAFMC. Click here to read our letter to the SAFMC. We provide this information for your reference to write your own letter or submit your own comments. The new comment period ends on 3.4.2021 at 9 am. Voice your opinion!
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| Ethical Angling Practices for Dolphin
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As individuals, there are a host of changes or decisions that we can make to improve sustainability of the natural world for the benefit of people and nature. Individuals can chose to use energy more efficiently, conserve water, decrease use of plastics, and source locally produced products. What about when it comes to offshore recreational fishing for dolphinfish? Aside from engaging in the practice of tagging and releasing small individuals for science, there is another less often contemplated decision and it relates to the following question: How many schools of dolphin do you interact with during your offshore fishing season while bailing (casting to dolphinfish with live or cut bait from a drifting or slowly moving boat)? Based off of this question, our decision as offshore anglers should be to minimize the incidence of negative interactions when encountering schools of dolphin while bailing by utilizing ethical angling methods such as the use of non-offset circle hooks, dipnetting small fish if suspected to be below a specific minimum size, and decreasing the use of drop-back methods that can result in fatal injuries to dolphin. Click here to read more about our ongoing research to educate anglers about the opportunity we all have to minimize negative interactions with dolphin while bailing.
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| Support Mahi Tagging - Buy Gear in Our Shop!
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Thank You For Your Support!
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A special thanks to Uncle B's Outdoors of Florence, SC (image left), for providing our tagging program with a big boost to start the year by raising $5K through a series of outdoor events in December. We would also like to thank everyone who has contributed to our tagging program to fund our 2021 tagging effort. With your support, we were able to start 2021 strong and, to date, we have
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already shipped out 141 tagging kits. Our goal is to distribute 400 kits and 5,000 tags in 2021. While we have an operational budget to begin the year, we still need support to help us increase our tagging
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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 2021. Click the icons below to shop or donate to support our program.
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