Black marlin recaptures from Port Macquarie to Papua New Guinea
by RFA of NSW 18 Oct 2021 00:33 UTC
From time to time we are lucky enough to receive details of recaptures that come from remote regions of the Pacific Ocean.
Recently, the details of a black marlin recapture were emailed to the program from MRAG Asia Pacific an independent fisheries management consultancy firm. One of their associate fisheries observers had received the details of the recapture from a local subsistence fisher who was fishing offshore of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. The fish was recaptured on 7 July 2021 and was estimated to be 50 kg.
A quick search of the database revealed that the fish was released offshore of Port Macquarie on 10 January 2021 during the annual Golden Lure tournament. The fish was caught and tagged by Newcastle and Port Stephens GFC member Joel Abercrombie, who was fishing aboard The Omen. The Omen team went on to win champion boat for the tag and release category of the competition. The juvenile black marlin was estimated at 40 kg when released. The fish had spent only 178 days at liberty and but was caught more than 1625 nautical miles (~3005 km) from its original release location.
Each reported recapture contributes to our understanding of pelagic fish species. If you are lucky enough to recapture a tagged fish, please ensure you report it using our online recapture form which can be found here.
The Game Fish Tagging Program is funded by the NSW Recreational Fishing Trusts.