Billfish715
11-06-2018, 02:28 PM
The American Littoral Society recently released its latest edition of the Underwater Naturalist in which there is a summary of the tag returns from 2016.
I always enjoy reading where some of the fish were tagged and recaptured. One of the tags was returned from a striped bass that had been tagged in Raritan Bay on May 10, 2016. It was recaptured on June 23, 2016 off Martha's Vineyard. That's 44 days from tagging to recapture. That striper was really moving to have covered so many miles in just over a month.
Another detail that caught my eye was from a tag return (in fact, several tag returns) from fluke that were recaptured 65-75 miles offshore of Cape May in April and May and reported by National Fisheries Observers. Those fluke were still a long way off the beach as the recreational fluke season was about to begin. I have to wonder when they ever made it to the inshore grounds.
On a return trip of a fluke, it was tagged in Raritan Bay on July 7, 2016 and recaptured from the Hudson Canyon on September 19, 2016. Again, that was a long way to swim in a short amount of time. Many other fluke returned to the same areas where they had been tagged the previous year.
Don't try to figure out where the fish are today based on yesterday's reports especially if you target striped bass or fluke. I know other taggers who read the report will add other interesting tagging return observations to this post. I hope they do and I hope some of you will join the Littoral Society to get in on the fun and science from the program.
By the way, the longest length of time any of the tagged fish from this report was at large was four years. Many tags are never returned or never recaptured. If you do catch a tagged fish with a yellow plastic loop near its tail, measure the fish, record the tag number and information and return the tag. If you want to release the fish, do the same routine but leave the tag in the fish. Hopefully it will be caught again. Many are.
I always enjoy reading where some of the fish were tagged and recaptured. One of the tags was returned from a striped bass that had been tagged in Raritan Bay on May 10, 2016. It was recaptured on June 23, 2016 off Martha's Vineyard. That's 44 days from tagging to recapture. That striper was really moving to have covered so many miles in just over a month.
Another detail that caught my eye was from a tag return (in fact, several tag returns) from fluke that were recaptured 65-75 miles offshore of Cape May in April and May and reported by National Fisheries Observers. Those fluke were still a long way off the beach as the recreational fluke season was about to begin. I have to wonder when they ever made it to the inshore grounds.
On a return trip of a fluke, it was tagged in Raritan Bay on July 7, 2016 and recaptured from the Hudson Canyon on September 19, 2016. Again, that was a long way to swim in a short amount of time. Many other fluke returned to the same areas where they had been tagged the previous year.
Don't try to figure out where the fish are today based on yesterday's reports especially if you target striped bass or fluke. I know other taggers who read the report will add other interesting tagging return observations to this post. I hope they do and I hope some of you will join the Littoral Society to get in on the fun and science from the program.
By the way, the longest length of time any of the tagged fish from this report was at large was four years. Many tags are never returned or never recaptured. If you do catch a tagged fish with a yellow plastic loop near its tail, measure the fish, record the tag number and information and return the tag. If you want to release the fish, do the same routine but leave the tag in the fish. Hopefully it will be caught again. Many are.