A Tagged fluke

[Fishermancraig]

Anyone ever seen this before?

Caught this baby fluke (around 12").

Thought I hit the jackpot and wasn't sure what to do. In the end i left it on the fluke thinking it was too young to snip off and hadn't had enough data collected. I even briefly thought there may have been prize money involved.

But when i got home, upon closer examination of the photos, realized i was supposed to snip it off. The letters were barely visible in the bright sun.

Oh well. Wish I had snipped it off. Clearly the location of the tag on the fish is inflamed and unpleasant for the fish. Went back to the same spot a couple days later to see if i could catch the same fish but to no avail. (This was off the Jersey Coast)

[Rocky]

It is an American Littoral Society tag. It looks like it was recently put in. The writing looks pretty clear to me. Next time you are releasing the fish write down the numbers or take a pic and then go to their site and report your catch. That way they can get multiple reports from the fish.

Several years ago I tagged a striper in the Delaware river near Trenton and 3 months later it was caught in Connecticut or Massachusetts. Can't remember for sure.

[Billfish715]

Chances are it was recently tagged. Chances are very slim that it will be caught again. Although, it might be caught and never reported. I'm sure many of the fluke that I tag are scooped up by a dragger along with many other fluke that do not have tags. Unless the crew or captain of the commercial boat take the time to report a tagged fish, the fluke will end up on ice and shipped to a fish monger. The numbers of fluke that I've tagged far outnumbers the tags that have ever been returned. I've received information about many fish that have been recaptured and it is always interesting to learn where the fish were caught and how long they have been at large.

There are identification numbers on each tag. You can copy the numbers and leave the tag in the fish if it is not a keeper. You can do the same with any tagged fish that you don't intend to keep. Or, you can clip the tag off and mail it back to ALS. You'll receive information about the fish and receive a patch acknowledging your participation in the program. Be sure to record the length and/or weight of the fish as well as where, specifically, it was caught.

[jigmup]

ALS tag,,,,,catch, tag and release