Rewarding Research – Winter Flounder Tracking Project Update

[NJSeaGrant]

Rutgers University researchers are asking anglers and commercial fishermen to keep an eye out for tagged winter flounder. Archival tags returned to the address listed on the tag will net fishermen a $200 reward.

Dr. Kenneth Able, Dr. Thomas Grothues, and graduate student Kaycee Coleman from the Rutgers’ Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, recently boarded a local trawler to capture and tag winter flounder on the Continental Shelf in the area known as The Mudhole.  The research team tagged 51 winter flounder with archival (data storage) tags and 126 streamer tags and another 12 winter flounder with acoustic tags. 

One week later, the team returned to locate the tagged fish with a hydrophone.  Two fish were located, but the remaining fish had dispersed. Locating the fish with the acoustic tags helps to confirm survival of the tagging process and track movement of the winter flounder. More information on returning tags and the project please can be found at http://coseenow.net/ru-fish-tracking/

This research project is funded in part by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium. To learn more about the project and its objectives, visit http://njseagrant.org/research/research-projects/2012-2014/299-winter-flounder-estuaries-inner-continental-shelf.

[IrishAyes]

Great program you have going. Best of luck with it. Hopefully you can gather the knowledge needed to bring these fish back to their sustainable numbers.

I do have a few questions on the fish that was captured with a tag.

The article said the fish was saved so you could check it. 

In this case the fisherman saved the flounder so I could measure it, determine it was a female, and take pictures of the fish to see how healthy it was compared to when we let it go.

 
Was the fish then released, as winter flounder season is not open.

Is there an exception to keeping the fish because it was tagged?

Was it a commercial fisherman and their season is open?

I only ask these questions so everyone is clear on what to do if they catch a tagged fish.

(If this turns into a bashing post about comms v recs, did he do right, etc, I will take the post down).

[overbite]

  Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Good Luck. I returned many tags from S. Bass to American Littoral Society at Sandy Hook. And only to get a very very small Patch and a letter. And most were tagged with in a year or two and in the same general area. One Even lost weight and got shorter than recorded.  .
Does The Rutgers Sea Grant have a sportsman tagging program like the Littoral Society.
Again Good luck and hope its a success. Winter Flounder fishing sure took a dive for whatever reasons. Bill

[NJSeaGrant]

There are no exceptions on this project.  Recreational anglers and commercial fishermen are required to follow current regulations.  Only the tag should be returned.

In this case the fish was recaptured before we could provide detailed information about the project and returning the tag.  Technically the fish should have been released.

Thank you for helping clarify this.

[IrishAyes]

Thanks for your quick response to my questions. 

[NJSeaGrant]

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Good Luck. I returned many tags from S. Bass to American Littoral Society at Sandy Hook. And only to get a very very small Patch and a letter. And most were tagged with in a year or two and in the same general area. One Even lost weight and got shorter than recorded.  .
Does The Rutgers Sea Grant have a sportsman tagging program like the Littoral Society.
Again Good luck and hope its a success. Winter Flounder fishing sure took a dive for whatever reasons. Bill

Rutgers does not have their own tagging program and used Littoral Society tags in addition to the data storage tags for this project. 

Using archival tags on winter flounder is a new approach and the researchers are hopeful that the data will help to understand their use of the Continental Shelf and estuaries.

Thanks and good luck.

[overbite]

Thanks for the reply to my question . File photo of tagged Bass

[Still Running]

Thanks for the reply to my question . File photo of tagged Bass

Photo Shop ?

[overbite]

Thanks for the reply to my question . File photo of tagged Bass

Photo Shop ?

No Its Microsoft Picture It! Express 7.0 I found it to be one of the best for basic editing, Cropping fixing and such.  And features are simpler for downloading from Cameras and scanner.  Thanks for asking Bill