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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 1
September 2005
Hey guys: Thanks for turning in those yellowtail flounder tags
WOODS HOLE, MA – Ignazio Sanfilippo of the Gloucester-based Cat Eyes recently won $1,000 for turning in a tag he found on a yellowtail flounder. Sanfilippo actually has turned in 23 tags since 2003, and on May 2, the effort paid off with a cash reward. One of his tags, #10387, was drawn from a big fish bowl, making him the sixth $1,000 lottery winner since the yellowtail flounder tagging project got underway.
This past March at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, a tag submitted by Tony Fernandes of New Bedford turned out to be the $1,000 lottery winner. Fernandes, who was captain of the Voyager I at the time he submitted the tag, has turned in 32 tags in all, including a previous $100 winner.
The Voyager I is now captained by Fred Marques, who owns the vessel. Marques himself has turned in 37 tags, making the Voyager I the top tag returning boat in the fleet. Fernandes and Marques combined have sent in a whopping 69 tags.
Azure Westwood, who’s under contract with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to coordinate tagging trips and tag returns, said program leaders can’t thank fishermen like Sanfilippo, Fernandes, and Marques enough. The yellowtail tagging project is turning out to be a huge success because of people like them, she said.
Tags are “priceless”
Not everyone who takes the time to turn in tags wins $100 or $1,000, but project leader Steve Cadrin said the tag itself and the information that fishermen supply are priceless in helping scientists better understand yellowtail flounder migration patterns, stock mixing, and much more.
All tags marked with the words “$1,000 lottery” are thrown into the project’s fish bowl and are eligible for periodic lottery drawings. Tags stay in the bowl from one lottery to the next except for winners.
The next lottery will be held in New Bedford during the Sept. 23-25 Working Waterfront Festival.
Thanks, thanks, thanks!
Here are some other top tag returners that Westwood and Cadrin say are owed a debt of gratitude:
• Michael McDonald of New Bedford, captain of the It Ain’t Easy and Competition, has turned in 55 tags to date, with one tagged fish recaptured 727 days after it was initially released;
• Bruce Bannick of Jamestown, RI, captain of the Sarah Beth, has turned in 48 tags, with the longest time at large being 401 days;
• John Machie of New Bedford, captain of the Hen Lee, has turned in 44 tags, with the longest time at large being 393 days;
• Jim Ford of East Kingston, NH, captain of the Lisa Ann II, has turned in 31 tags, with the longest time at large being 296 days;
• Various captains from the New Bedford-based Neves have turned in a total of 29 tags; and
• Patrick Knapp of Charlestown, RI, captain of the Rhonda Denise and Mistress, has turned in 18 tags.
Processor helps out
Westwood also expressed sincere gratitude to Robert Jardin of Tempest Fisheries Ltd. in New Bedford for turning in 50 tags.
“He’s been so diligent about returning tags that workers find on fish,” she said.
“He takes the time and initiative to investigate which boat the fish came from and where the boat was fishing, which helps the project immensely,” Westwood said.
Janice M. Plante
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