Jun - Dolphin Tagging Project

Made possible by a grant from the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation
June 2016
The second long-term recovery was a fish tagged off
West Palm Beach, Florida, on June 4, 2015, by Gary York,
who estimated the fish to be 16 inches. Ray Hales
recovered the fish on March 9, 2016, in the Tongue of the
Ocean off Chub Cay, Bahamas, and reported it as being 55
inches in length and weighing 39 pounds. This suggests
that it grew 39 inches during its 9.3 months of liberty and
grew at the rate of 4.2 inches per month.
The third fish at liberty over the winter was a fish
released by the crew of Don Gate’s boat off Cudjoe Key,
Florida, on June 4, 2015, when it measured 18 inches in
length. This fish was recovered by Ryan Schiedel on April
3, 2016, off Spanish Cay, Bahamas. He estimated the fish
to be 48 inches in length and to weigh 30 pounds, which
would suggest a growth of 30 inches during the 10.1
month liberty, or 2.9 inches per month.
Long-term Tag Recoveries Kickoff the Year
Dolphin tagged in 2015 that survived their long overwinter migration were the subject of the first four tag
recoveries reported in 2016. These were followed by a
long-delayed tag recovery report, before we slipped into
the normal short-term recoveries of spring. Among the
reports was one of the earliest recoveries of a Florida fish
traveling to North Carolina. As of May 1, we have had 11
tagged fish reported recovered. This is the most recoveries
reported for this period in the past five years.
The long-term recoveries represent fish that survived
their fall/winter migration of the open north Western
Atlantic Ocean, where they may have even traveled around
the Sargasso Sea in their journey southward toward the
Caribbean Sea. They would likely have swum from 4,000
to 6,000 miles during their journey. All of these fish were
tagged when they were less than 20 inches in fork length
and likely less than four months of age. The fish were at
liberty from 7.2 to 10.1 months, making the fish from 11 to
14 months of age when recaptured.
The first of these fish to be recovered was released by
Jack Conroy off Marathon, Florida, on June 29, 2015,
when the fish was estimated to be 15 inches long. It was
recovered 7.2 months later off Cape Canaveral, Florida, by
Kyle Wenzel, who measured the fish at 34 inches in
length. This indicates a growth of roughly 19 inches, or 2.6
inches per month.
The Dolphinfish Research Program
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Not all dolphin grow at the same rate and as with humans,
many factors play into their weight. At 42 inches, this cow
dolphin that was at liberty for 275 days should have
weighed 21 pounds, but actually tipped the scales at only
15 pounds. Photo by D. Duntz.
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Dolphinfish Research Newsletter
June 2016
Page 2.
The fourth long-term recovery involved a fish tagged on
July 14, 2015, by Capt. Rick Thomas off Miami, Florida,
when the fish was estimated to be 18 inches in length.
After a liberty of 9.2 months the fish was recaptured by
David Duntz off Boca Raton, Florida, on April 14, 2016,
just 41 miles north of where it was released. The fish
measured 42 inches and weighed 15 pounds at recapture.
The measurement indicates a growth of roughly 24 inches
during its liberty or 2.6 inches per month. The preceding
photo provided by Mr. Duntz shows that the fish is a
female and is very thin for its length. This is a good
example of the wide range of weight that dolphin show at
any given length.
These four fish demonstrate that small fish released off
the U.S. East Coast will return the following year as prized
gaffers. This demonstrates that it benefits East Coast
anglers to reinvest the small dolphin that they catch by
releasing them to provide the fish the opportunity to return
the following year as gaffer-size dolphin.
Our next tag recovery report demonstrates the problems
that can occur when tag recoveries are not reported
promptly. The fish involved in this recovery was tagged
off Marathon, Florida, by Chad Carter on July 28, 2014,
when it was roughly 18 inches in length. The recovery
report was received on April 16, 2016. Andy Hendrick
reported recovering the fish off Jacksonville, Florida, on
July 23, 2014 and reported its length as 24 inches. This
would mean that the fish was recovered five days before it
was actually tagged, which is impossible and shows that
the fisherman confused the recapture date. Several
recaptures in the past that were reported after long delays
had similar problems. What we do know from this
recovery is that the fish did move up the East Coast from
Marathon to Jacksonville in 2014.
Every spring, typically starting in April, dolphin taggers
along the south Florida coast and the Florida Keys take to
the water to tag fish for science. Shortly thereafter, reports
of small tagged dolphin being recaptured come trickling in
to the DRP. This year saw five of the short-term recoveries
reported for fish that were at liberty from 1 to 15 days that
had moved from 7 to 111 miles from their release sites.
The fish tagged by two anglers were involved in the five
short-term recoveries. Capt. Bouncer Smith, who tags off
Miami, Florida, had three of the fish he tagged recovered.
A fish he tagged on April 14, 2016, was recovered the next
day by Julian Allison off North Miami Beach, just 14
miles from where it was released. Another fish Capt.
Bouncer tagged on that same day and location was
recovered five days later by Nick Stanczyk off Islamorada,
Florida, 78 miles to the south. Capt. Bouncer tagged his
third fish to be recovered on April 15, 2016; it was
recaptured 15 days later and 111 miles to the north off St.
Lucie Inlet, Florida, by Anthony Golfo.
Latest 2016 Sponsors
Grady – White Boats, Greenville, NC
Florida Sport Fishing Association, Cape Canaveral, FL
Meat Fish Slam Tournament, Georgetown, SC
Matt McLaughlin, who tags his fish off St. Lucie Inlet,
and who just joined the tagging study this spring, produced
the next two short-term recoveries. A fish he tagged on
April 8, 2016, was recovered eight day later, 86 miles to
the north off Cape Canaveral, Florida, by Riley Jones.
Matt’s other recovery came from a fish he tagged on April
27, 2016. It was caught the next day by Stephen Purkey
just 7 miles north of where it was released.
The final recapture made before May 1 was a fish also
released by Matt McLaughlin off St. Lucie Inlet, Florida,
but unlike Matt’s other fish, this fish had the desire to
travel. At liberty for 22 days, the fish was able to move
527 miles to the north before committing its second foolish
act of biting a baited hook. Joseph Sparks was the lucky
angler who recovered the fish off Harker’s Island, North
Carolina, on April 30, 2016. The fish averaged traveling
24 miles northward each day. This is about an average rate
of travel for fish making this journey, but it is nowhere
close to the record speed of a fish released off Islamorada,
Florida, and recovered nine days later off Oregon Inlet,
North Carolina. This fish covered the 835 miles at an
average daily speed of 93 miles per day. Mr. Sparks’s
recovery is one of the earliest for a dolphin tagged off
Florida to be recovered off North Carolina.
Each tag recovery adds additional information to each
type of movement displayed by these fish, allowing us to
refine our understanding about the nature of the different
movements that their recoveries exhibit. The DRP has
logged the recapture of more than 500 dolphin which is the
largest known data base on the movement of dolphinfish.
This great accomplishment results from the cooperation
and support of private fishermen from all over the western
North Atlantic Ocean.
South Carolina’s Bonanza
The 2016 South Carolina dolphin fishing season started
out with a bang. A total 588 dolphin have been recorded
caught during 40 boat trips made by vessels fishing out of
the Ripley Light Marina basin in Charleston through May
2, 2016. For comparison, last year this number of dolphin
was not caught until May 27 and it took 62 boat trips to
accomplish the task.
The first boat trip surveyed this year was on April 23 and
it caught three dolphin. From this point the fishing picked
up with catches of 15 to 20 fish per boat being the norm.
These catches motivated the local fleet into action on April
30, when the winds finally laid down on a weekend,
resulting in 21recreational boats going offshore from the
Ripley Marina. These boats caught from one to 37
dolphinfish on April 30 for a total catch of 331fish. Having
personally seen the catches, I doubt that there were 20 fish
that were less than five pounds in size. The majority of the
fish ran from 10 to 18 pounds, making it the largest singleday catch of dolphin that I have witnessed by private
recreational boats out fun fishing.
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Dolphinfish Research Newsletter
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June 2016
Page 3.
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The crew of the charter boat Reel Interest display 41
dolphin they caught during a fishing trip on April 29, 2016
off Charleston, South Carolina. This haul of dolphin along
with several other similar catches motivated the local
fishing fleet into action.
In 2015 many of the boats were slow to start fishing and
wound up missing out on the short dolphin fishing season,
which largely ended by June 1. They learned their lesson
and in 2016 were ready to fish almost a month earlier.
The only observation that I have from this exceptional
catch of dolphin is that a major pulse of fish had traveled
up the East Coast on the western side of the Gulf Stream. It
has now been five days since any boat from Ripley has
ventured offshore because of high winds. Whether the fish
are still out there or how long the fishing will remain good,
only time will tell.
For More Information, Contact
Don Hammond
Dolphinfish Research Program
Cooperative Science Services, LLC
961 Anchor Rd., Charleston, SC
29412
Telephone – FAX (843) 795-7524
Email [email protected]
Web site www.dolphintagging.com
Haddrell’s Point Tackle and Supply,
Mt. Pleasant & Charleston, SC
Star Rods/Big Rock Sports, Morehead City, NC
Hilton Head Reef Foundation, Hilton Head, SC
Costa Del Mar, Daytona Beach, FL
Micky Scott, Allendale, SC
Tim & Michelle Heiser, Plantation, FL
West Palm Beach Fishing Club, W. Palm Beach, FL
Peter E. West, Greenville, NC
Grady-White Boats, Greenville, NC
Franklin Hendley, Cheraw, SC
Brad Truluck, Charleston, SC
Georgetown Landing Marina, Georgetown, SC
Florence Blue Water Fishing Club, Florence, SC
Beaufort Sport Fishing & Diving Club, Beaufort, SC
Laura & Don Laury Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Suzanne Sigel & Bill Pomenti, Islamorada, FL
Ann & Richard Cook, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Capt. Bill Parker, Hilton Head Island, SC
Mitchell Collette, Julian, NC
Charleston Fifty-Fifty Tournament, Charleston, SC
Gary York, Palm Beach, FL
Capt. Bouncer Smith, Miami Beach, FL
Charleston City Marina, Charleston, SC
Capt. Rom Whitaker, Hatteras, NC
Jerry Wagoner Construction, Raleigh, NC
Mitchell S. Scott, Allendale, SC
Mark & Louise Forsythe, Jupiter, FL
David A. Neblett PA, Miami, FL
American Fishing Tackle Company, Santa Ana, CA
Nicholas Caplanis, Mims, FL
Harry Hampton Fund, Columbia, SC
Ms. Jane Wood, St. Louis, MO
Robert Waite, Del Ray Beach, FL
The Greenery of Charleston, Daniel Island, SC
Central Florida Offshore Anglers, Orlando, FL
Ron Penska, Avalon, NJ
Tony Ray Homes, Melbourne Beach, FL
Capt. Jim Rose, Jr., Shelby, NC
Six Mile Creek, LLC, Charleston, SC
Tire Group International, Miami, FL
Blue Water Magazine, Runaway Bay, Australia
Killin Time II Fishing Team, Cudjoe Key, FL
Carolina Inspection Service, Charleston, SC
Patrick McGrady, Ponce Inlet, FL
Craig Sudbrink, Greensboro, NC
Bill & Denise Ball, Orlando, FL
Roy G. Magnuson, Ft. Pierce, FL
Edward & Victoria Kattel, Islamorada, FL
Kat Keys, LLC, Islamorada, FL
Harris Huddle, Trent Woods, NC
Capt. Larry Harvey, Georgetown, SC
David Wamer, Taylors, SC
Richard S. DeLizza, Weston, FL
Robert & Joanne DeLizza, Weston, FL
Tom Driver, Summerville, SC
Golden Hook Fishing Club, St. Croix, VI