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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 1
September 2005
Yellowtail tags: What to look for, who to contact if found
As of early August, roughly 37,000 yellowtail flounder had been tagged in three major yellowtail stock areas – the Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic, and Georges Bank.
Now the big job is getting the tags back. And it’s clear they could show up just about anywhere.
So far, several turned up in bait barrels. Four were pulled out of monkfish stomachs. And one was found in a wildlife refuge on Nomans Island south of Martha’s Vineyard. Biologist Janette Tebow, who turned in this particular wayward disk, suspected that an osprey or gull had eaten the tagged yellowtail. And then, well, you know what happens next in the digestive process.
Tag return information all ends up in a big, specially designed database at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA, and the results are already being used to rethink some old beliefs about yellowtail behavior and movement.
Who to call
All tags are imprinted with a toll-free number, which is 1-877-826-2612. If you catch a tagged yellowtail, call that number.
If you get the answering machine, leave your name, address, phone number, home port, vessel name, tag number, location and date of recapture, and any other key information possible, like the size and condition of the fish and the depth of the water where it was caught.
Any observations about the health of the fish or wounds around the tag area are also important to note and, according to project leaders, pictures are always greatly appreciated.
Next, mail the tag, the pertinent info, and scales (if requested) to: Yellowtail tagging project, 166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543.
Azure Westwood, who coordinates the returns, can be reached directly (when she’s not at sea) at (508) 495-2238 or by e-mail at <Azure.Westwood@noaa.gov>. /cfn/
Janice M. Plante
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