Conservation: Protecting the future of fishing
by Grady-White 3 Nov 2022 19:30 UTC
Protecting the future of fishing © Wessley Merten
Grady-White Boats supports many conservation efforts. Recently two organizations, the Tagging of Pelagic Predators Program and the Dolphinfish Research Program, Beyond our Shores, announced exciting discoveries.
The Tagging of Pelagic Predators Program is run by Dr. Barbara Block, a Stanford University Marine Biology Professor who began her career on the U.S. East Coast and now spends most of her time on the West Coast tagging and tracking white sharks. As part of her East Coast program, pelagic fish are tagged in the Atlantic Ocean and tracked by Dr. Block, who measures the distances and locations the fish travel.
In June of 2021 during the annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, off the North Carolina Coast, a marlin was tagged and subsequently tracked. The fish was reported to have traveled more than 8,000 miles, crossing the Atlantic Ocean two times, over the eight-month tracking timeframe.
Read more about this marlin's journey and the research behind it here. (Article compliments of Sportfishing Magazine)
The Dolphinfish Research Program works alongside participating anglers (both commercial and recreational) to tag dolphinfish and track their migratory routes, natural behaviors, and gather intelligence on the species. In the summer of 2021, a 16" dolphinfish was tagged off the coast of South Florida. Just over a year later the fish was recaptured in Venezuela and measured approximately 53" in length. This represented the third dolphinfish to be tagged in U.S. East Coast waters and recaptured in Venezuela.
In 2022, the highest number of boats participated in the 21-year-old program, which resulted in the distribution of a record number of kits that included more than 5,700 tags. They deployed seven satellite tags, seven acoustic tags, collected 277 catch per unit effort trips, and 65 seafood reports. If you enjoy offshore fishing, you're probably catching dolphinfish! Help expand their efforts in 2023 by participating in the tagging program and donating to their work.