Article Published May 2024
On June 4th, 2005, DRP founder Don Hammond deployed the first satellite tag for our program while fishing aboard vessel Tag Team off of Charleston, South Carolina. After that deployment, Hammond went on to deploy 14 more satellite tags for our program on fish off the Bahamas, Mexico, and different locations off Florida. Originally, Hammond used the Domeier method, which is when a titanium anchor dart is pierced into the fish’s dorsal musculature, to attach satellite tags to qualifying fish. In 2014, he modified his attachment protocol to a thread-through method, which is when a hypodermic needle is used to button the tag to the fish. During that fishing season, he tagged two fish using the thread-through method, and one went on to carry the tag for 180 days, the maximum monitoring period our program uses for tags purchased from Microwave Telemetry. Since then, our program has deployed 93 satellite tags using the thread-through method, with further modifications. While we still have yet to replicate another 180-day track, we just acquired our second longest at 158 days for a 40″ female tagged and released aboard Miss Costa Rica fishing out of Tropic Star Lodge last November. This tag surfaced and began transmitting on April 25th. Additionally, on April 4th and April 5th, two other tags surfaced and began transmitting after remaining on 43″ and 38″ male dolphinfish for 90 days off Mexico and Guatemala. Those fish were tagged and released aboard Finest Kind and Pica Mas fishing out of Casa Vieja Lodge. Acquiring long duration or full-interval monitoring periods has always been our goal when deploying satellite tags, and for dolphinfish over the past three years and 35 tags deployed, more than half (20 tags; 57%) either produced full-interval records, were recaptured, or acquired monitoring periods >40 days. To sponsor a tag contact us!
at large, there are a multiude of events that could result in little to no data being collected at all which include, but are not limited to, tag failure, destruction through predation, or damage to the antennae, etc. Finally, acquiring enough data after overcoming the aformentioned challenges to advance our knowledge of this species through science takes years of work. Remarkably, over the past fifteen years, our major corporate and fishing club sponsors, private donors, and network of fishing teams have helped the program acquire over 400 days of satellite tracking data from male and female dolphin along the U.S. East Coast, the Bahamas, Caribbean Sea, and Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.Each component presents challenges. First, while the costs of certain models of PSATs have lowered over the years, the most sophisticated tags capable of gathering the greatest amount of data still cost $5,000 each. Second, recruiting a captain and their fishing team to help offset outing costs along with giving up a trophy dolphin if caught for science also presents challenges.
s, our major corporate and fishing club sponsors, private donors, and network of fishing teams have helped the program acquire over 400 days of satellite tracking data from male and female dolphin along the U.S. East Coast, the Bahamas, Caribbean Sea, and Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. These data have already been published in five scientific journals and used to describe the overall daily vertical movement strategy and habitat use of adult male dolphinfish, migration routes and pathways among jurisdictions throughout the western central Atlantic Ocean, differences in movement patterns observed from conventional tagging data, gender specific habitat use and movement differences, behavior near fish aggregating devices (FADs), and more.Through the years, the DRP’s tagging technique also evolved from in-water harpon tagging to an on-board thread-through method developed by Don Hammond.
While the DRP has not published a scientific paper on the difference between tagging techniques, observed data indicate more data is acquired and tags achieve their programmed interval more frequently using the new method. By using this technique in combination with a tagging cradle developed in 2018, our goal is to acquire 200 days of satellite tracking data over the next 12 months working with multiple fishing teams in the Caribbean Sea, Mid-Atlantic Bight, and Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Gathering these data will allow us to better understand the movements and habitat use of this species in areas that completely lack these data yet fishing pressure on the species is high and abundance appears to be lower than in the past. Help us fund the acquisition of detailed data records on this vital fish species. There is no donation too small to help us acquire 200 days of data in the next 12 months. Donate to our satellite tracking program today.