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Copyright Š1996 Reel-Time

Catch and Release

Thirty Years of Tag and Return Fishing

By D. C. Churbuck, Editor

The American Littoral Society

Sandy Hook

Highlands, New Jersey 07732

908-291-0055

The ALS Underwater Naturalist

ALS Tagging Card

Tagging and releasing fish is one of the most appealing rewards one can find from saltwater flyfishing. It serves science, sure, but it's an adventure in itself; like putting a message in a bottle with and hoping someone will find it far away.

Scientists and fisheries managers have used a range of tagging methods to track the migrations and life cycle of fish. You name it, they've tagged it. From fluke to sharks, tags provide the statisticians with their numbers that drive management policy at the state and federal level. Tags let biologists track the growth and migration patterns of a stock, they help identify spawning areas and they have captured the imagination of the fishing public, who participate by taking the time to look for a tag and report its recovery.

While some tags carry a bounty of a few dollars to entice their return, others -- in big tournaments and promotions -- carry six-figure prizes. Fish are tagged for derby fishing, with prizes given to those anglers lucky enough to catch one, but that has traditionally been done in lakes and ponds, where the tags can be contained within a few known bodies of water. A tagging contest is run in Long Island Sound by some Connecticut tackle shops during the summer. Anglers can redeem the tags for tackle and cash prizes.

For the past 30 years, recreational fishers have had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a tagging program administered by the American Littoral Society. The ALS was founded in the early sixties as an active coalition of scientists, bird watchers, surf casters, and others committed to preserving the landscape and wildlife of the coastal zone.

The ALS publishes a quarterly journal, Underwater Naturalist, which features scientific papers, book reviews, and well-detailed tables of tagging activity that list the name of the tagger, the date and place of the tagging, the size of the fish at the time of the tagging, the name of the person who caught it, the place it was caught, and the length of the fish when it was recovered.

Since the tagging program was started in 1965, thousands of anglers have participated, tagging 221,000 fish, and reporting 10,760 returns. Some taggers, such as Captain Al Anderson of Narragansett, Rhode Island have tagged as many as 3,000 fish over their careers. Some taggers tag in sea kayaks, off the outflows of power plants, on charter boats, and on the beaches. Tagging is a religion to some anglers, who celebrate each and every return, and the news that the fish they thought enough of to release once, was caught, and often released again.

The only way to get a tagging kit is to buy one from the Society. The only way to buy one is to join the ALS. That costs $15 a year for students, $25 for individuals and $30 for clubs.

Pam Carlsen, the person who runs the tagging program, explains that charging for the tags and not giving them away insures some control over knowing who has the tags, and that there is some incentive for would-be taggers to take the responsibility of submitting cards, measuring fish, and inserting the tags correctly. Tagging kits cost $6 and a current membership in the ALS. The money buys you ten tags -- eight inch yellow spaghetti tags with the ALS address and serial number printed on them, a hollow tagging needs for doing the deed, and postcards printed with the same serial number for reporting catches back to the ALS.

Well over 100 species have been tagged and reported in the Underwater Naturalist since the program started. Freshwater tagging stopped in 1987 because of different state regulations on handling fish, and the unexciting migration patterns of landlocked species. The most popular species is striped bass, the premier gamefish of the Northeast, home of the ALS. Bluefish, tautog, flounder, scup are also tagged, but less avidly than stripers.

Recent Species Tagged

Species	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Striped Bass	5,404	7,010	11,105	11,919	14,325	12,923	13,600
Bluefish	802	917	1,120	1,178	1,761	1,003	771
Fluke	1,737	176	1,300	2,118	1,788	3,853	3,002

Fluke tagging dropped dramatically in 1989 as the entire Mid-Atlantic fluke fishery crashed. Bluefish started to drop in 1993 possibly reflecting the contraction of that fishery.

The biggest value of the program has been the data on fish stocks and migration patterns it builds for scientists and fishery officials. For taggers, that database is just about the best fishing intelligence available for someone learning where fish are caught and when. By reading the tagging reports an angler can learn how to anticipate the fish, to be at the right spot when they arrive, not after they've left. It's also fascinating to see how fish are caught almost to the day a year later at the same spot, sometime by the original tagger. Some of the stories told by taggers are amazing. A recent special tagging issue of Underwater Naturalist (Vol. 23, No 2., Spring 1996), celebrating 30 years of fish tagging, published some great fish tag tales.

The first fish

The first fish tagged and returned was first caught by Stanley Maselbas of New Britain, Connecticut at Great Point, Nantucket on October 9, 1964. It was an eight-pounder and Stanley tagged it with tag number 242. A month later, at "Fire Island Bar", the fish was recaptured 170 miles southeast of where it was tagged. Since then tags have been recovered in the stomachs of giant bluefin tuna, in fish with one eye, by members of the same family ...

example of ALS tagging return report

Dr. John Boreman, director of the University of Massachusetts/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin. Cooperative Marine Program in Amherst, Mass. wrote about the value of tagging in the recent issue of Underwater Naturalist:

"The principle behind using a tagging program to estimate population size involves ratios. Scientists release a known number of fish and, after allowing sufficient time for the tagged fish to intermingle with the untagged fish in the population, they sample the population and record the ratio of tagged fish recaptured to the total number of fish sampled. Knowing how many they originally released, they can then extrapolate from the ratio to an estimate of total abundance at the time they released the tagged fish. For example, if 1,000 tagged fish are released and half of the number of fish that are subsequently sampled have tags, then the population abundance at the time of tagging should be close to 2,000 fish."

Loading the tag into the needle

(for a full view, click on the thumbnail images)

Photos by Jared Tausig

Ready to tag

Insert the tag behind the dorsal fin

How-to-tag

Whenever a human hand comes into contact with a fish, the experience is extremely traumatic to the fish, to say the least. A fish is exhausted by the time it is landed, and, if its chances of survival depend on how quickly it returned to the water and revived. Always fish with barbless hooks, and when tagging, be very prepared for the process before you catch a fish.

The object of tagging is to have one's tagged fish returned, and the prerequisite for a returned tag is a healthy fish! Fish are protected by a thin coat of slime that is a barrier against parasites and infection. If that barrier is broken or disturbed, the fish will suffer. The best way to minimize contact with a fish is to grasp it by the lower lip (not recommended with bluefish or other toothy species!) and at the base of the tail. Don't try to cradle the fish around its midsection.

The ALS has lots of tips for successful tagging. Here is a simple step-by-step guide.

First, prepare for tagging by sorting through the tagging cards and making sure the right tags are assigned to their appropriate return cards. I tie each tag through the card using the handy hole punched in a silhouette of a fish printed on the information side, a loose overhand knot does the jog. I store the cards in a Zip-loc.

Make sure the tagging needle is sharp. Use a hook hone to keep it razor sharp. Protect it and yourself in between fish by sticking it into a wine cork or the barrel of an old Bic pen.

Load the needle by sliding one end of the tag inside the flat end. It'll slide in about three inches. Set the loaded needle up near a spot where you have laid out a measuring tape (plastic dress making tape), and a wet towel. I disinfect the needle down with some Betadine, which you can get in little foil packets at any drug store.

When the fish is caught, unhook it, lay it on its side, cover its head with the hem of the towel, and working quickly, but carefully, insert the tag behind the dorsal fin. Don't punch through a scale, but lift one, about a half inch in from the edge of the fish, and firmly slide the needle through.

Pull the needle all the way through. Don't over-handle the fish!

Remove the needle

Tie the tag into a loose knot...

...and release!

Be sure that the end of the tag is all the through the back of the fish before releasing it from the needle. Stick the needle back in its cork or holder and finish the job by tying the ends of the tag together in an overhand knot, taking care to leave about an inch of slack in the loop to accommodate the fish's growth. Too tight a tag will constrict the fish. When tagging stripers, keep an eye on the spines in its dorsal. They can ruin your day. With bluefish, an assistant is always appreciated to hold the snapping jaws away from your fingers.

Measure the fish, and get it back to the water as soon as possible. No more than 15 seconds should have elapsed at this point, but don't heave the fish back, take the time to revive it by holding it by the lower jaw (not a method recommended for bluefish) and pushing it back and forth to get water flowing through its gills. When the fish kicks it is ready to be released.

Dry off your hands and take the time to fill out the tag report card. Load the needle with another tag and get back to fishing!

While stripers are the most tagged species, bluefish are also a good candidate. Some taggers have reported the tags on freshly tagged blues being attacked by other fish! Frankly the fish are so ferocious, you may want to reconsider tagging them at first until you have learned the process on a schoolie.

If you plan on tagging a lot, you may want to build a tagging board out of a piece of plywood with a wooden yardstick screwed into it for convenient measuring, and a holder for the tagging needle.

Tagging is a very fulfilling addition to fishing. Get involved and wait for that first issue of the Underwater Naturalist to arrive with a report of your first returned fish.

Do you already tag and have some tips? Just starting and have questions? Visit the Conservation Forum

Reel -Time

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