Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ219bands
Since 1993, I tagged 149 fluke in NJ with ALS tags and 6 were recaptured within a year of the tagging date. The first one was tagged in August at 14" and won first place in the Youth Division of the Governor's Cup Surf fishing tournament at 17". Then a 14" tagged in September was recaptured in the Hudson Canyon by a commercial fishing vessel in April at 15". Next, a 12" tagged in July was recaptured the next July in Charlestown, RI at 13". Then I caught the same one that I tagged earlier in the day 4 miles offshore in July. Next, a 16" I tagged in Manasquan Inlet in May got caught in April offshore of Accomack, VA by a dragger. The last tag return that I got was from a fluke that I tagged in Barnegat Inlet that got caught 2 weeks later near Barnegat Light. I think that most recaptured tagged fish don't get reported. I met a Delaware Bay netter who has > 600 ALS tags that he never reported and most of his friends don't report the tagged fish that they catch. I also found my tags cut in half and laying on the ground. Most poachers don't report tagged fish.
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Thanks for posting! Very insightful. Especially because you provided firsthand info.
As a side note my friend had a few tag returns from the canyons and such. But, he said the fish might have been caught North. However, the fish wasn't processed until the vessel returned to a southern port. So, the count could be skewed, I guess.
When the scientist hired by the SSFFF conveyed his findings and offered possible solution. Tagging, in his professional opinion, should be done on a grand scale to obtain accurate numbers. I don't know what was, is or hasn't been done in that regard. But, I still maintain there is NO WAY we went over in 2013!
