We have come to the end of 2022, which marks five years of running a 501(c)(3), the Beyond Our Shores Foundation, to continue and expand the Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP).
In 2022, DRP personnel embarked on 29 field outings with 10 different fishing teams in 6 tagging zones between 5 nations, conducted a seminar with the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, deployed 18 satellite and 12 acoustic tags, published two scientific manuscripts, and issued 12 DRP monthly newsletters, two fish aggregating device (FAD) newsletters, and 9 short videos. Next year marks the 22nd year of conducting research with the public through this tagging program. Your engagement in data collection associated with this tagging program has allowed our team to contribute new scientific information on dolphinfish movements along the U.S. East Coast, in The Bahamas, and the northeast Caribbean Sea, as well as on population genetic studies, oceanographic associations, mortality, fishery dynamics, population trends, and growth. If you value our scientific contributions to these topics and enjoy contributing to our research, please give what you can to help our program continue to engage anglers in research on dolphinfish and offshore fisheries.
Donations are fully tax-deductible and can be made by donating to the Beyond Our Shores Foundation via check ( click here), paypal ( click here), or stripe ( click here). You can also buy a DRP tee shirt, hat, or tagging kit by clicking here. A very special thanks to those who have already stepped up to support the program in 2023!
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2022 DRP Performance Metrics (through 12/20/22)
- 6,763 tags in 501 kits were distributed to 399 anglers in 12 nations
- Continued youth tagging with the Scouts of America; 57 Tagged 0 Recoveries
- 1,648 total tags deployed, 33 conventional recaptures generated
- 12 PSATs deployed in Eastern Tropical Pacific and 5 in the Caribbean Sea on Dolphinfish
- 1 PSAT deployed on wahoo in the Mona Passage; 3rd since last December
2022 DRP Highlights by Month
Below are notable highlights generated by anglers participating in the past 12 months of research associated with the Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP).
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January/February 2022
Milestone: 2021 year-end awards presented to 7 fishing teams plus the Scouts at Summerland Key, FL. Awards provided by AFTCO, Star Rods, and GHOF.
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Expansion:
With funding from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and MARTEC, our tagging program expanded to Costa Rica and Ecuador in January and February 2022.
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March/April 2022
Significant Recaptures: Anglers Involved: Captains Jeff Salter aboard Lady Helen, Don Gates aboard Killin Time II, and David Wamer aboard Wam-Jam all had fish recaptured in international waters during the first few months of 2022 including March. A fifth international recovery and second for the year in Venezuela occurred later in July. That fish was tagged and released by Captain Todd Lewis aboard Dead-A-Head. Click here to read more about these important international recoveries.
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Paper Published:
The Beyond Our Shores Foundation published a comprehensive review of the Dolphinfish Research Program in the Journal of Fisheries Management and Ecology on April 5th, 2022. Click the image to read the article.
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May/June 2022
Significant Recapture: A geolocating popup satellite archival transmitter (PSAT) was recovered at a fish aggregating device (FAD) 20 miles southeast of Barahona, DR. We received the tag back in May. This was the 2nd PSAT recovered in this region since 2019. Fourteen tags have been deployed since then. Fishing Teams Involved: Lalooli and Liqueo Fishing Teams. Click here to read more.
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Dolphinfish Management:
Our tagging program has engaged with the South Atlantic and Caribbean Fishery Management Council extensively over the last several year,s and we issued our third distinct public letter in June 2022 calling for more management and conservation measures to be implemented to safeguard the WCA dolphinfish population. Our first letter issued last January can be read here, the second here, and the third here.
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July/August 2022
Milestone: Thomas Flyer surpasses 3,000 tagged dolphin. It took Thomas Flyer 402 outings, averaging 7 fish tagged and released per outing, to surpass this milestone. Anglers Involved: Captains Jimbo and Rick Thomas and more than a thousand of their charter fishing clients. Click here to read more.
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Paper Published:
The Beyond Our Shores Foundation published a comprehensive review of international dolphinfish fisheries in the WCA in the Journal of Marine Policy in July 2022. Click the image to read the article.
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September/October 2022
Significant Recaptures: Anglers Involved: Angler Jeffrey Liederman aboard Sandman and the Sandman fishing team have had 10 dolphinfish recaptures occur in September and October along the north coast of the Dominican Republic over the past year. This is the highest recapture rate we have observed for any fishing team throughout the history of our tagging program.
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New Acoustic Study Initiated:
In September and October, 2022, we initiated a multi-species acoustic telemetry study off San Juan, PR, whereby 6 dolphinfish, 4 yellowfin tuna, a skipjack tuna, and a silky shark were tagged and released with acoustic transmitters. This work is being conducted as part of our fish aggregating device research.
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November/December 2022
Dolphinfish Satellite Tagging Activity: 12 PSATs deployed on dolphinfish (38" to 49") and 162 total (14" to 58") tagged with conventional tags off TSL. Click here to read more.
Made possible by: Tropic Star Lodge; the Guy Harvey Foundation, and Guy Harvey Research Institute.
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Wahoo Satellite Tagging Activity: 3 PSATs deployed on wahoo (38" to 47") off the west coast of Puerto Rico in December 2021 and 2022. Two short-term December movements have been obtained. Click here to read more. Fishers: Captain Jesus Duran, Dagobuerto Rodriquez, Emmanuel Markham, Dan Hack of Lalooli and Danger Fishing teams.
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Support the DRP in 2023
We ask you to contribute what you can today to support the Dolphinfish Research Program in 2023. This year was a great one for our tagging program thanks to our loyal sponsors, supporters, and participants. As a leader in public engagement in research and conservation of dolphin, your donation will advance our expanding organization by helping to purchase more tags to distribute to anglers, bolster our education programs and materials, and improve fisheries data collection among recreational, for-hire, and small-scale commercial fishermen. Help the DRP continue documenting movement and population trends in our oceans in 2023 by supporting us today. There are two ways to support our effort. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the Beyond Our Shores Foundation (click here to donate) or
purchase a kit, shirt, or hat in our online shop (click here to shop). The Beyond Our Shores Foundation, a 501(c)(3), was formed in 2017 to help support the growth of the DRP, and since then, we have distributed 27,411 tags around the world to 1,371 anglers and logged over 9,307 tag deployments and 217 new dolphin movements.
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Request Your Kit for 2023
From now until the end of 2023, our goal is to distribute tagging kits to 450 individual anglers. If you are new to the program or need more tags, please request your kit today. Click here to request a kit. Interested in purchasing your kit to help support the program? Please click here.
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| | 2022 Year-End Award Sponsors
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