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Capt. Jerry Dilsaver
"Tag-A-Giant 2003 was by far the most efficient effort that TAG has ever accomplished," were the words of Dr. Barbara Block of Stanford University Hopkins Marine Station Tuna Research and Conservation Center.
The West Coast based TAG team was only able to be in Morehead City from January 6 to January 28, yet still managed to tag 122 giant bluefin tuna with either archival or satellite pop-off tags that gather and store information. Another 4 bluefin tuna were tagged with conventional tags. The NC operations of TAG are based at Duke University Marine Lab, on Pivers Island between Morehead City and Beaufort.
With this year's effort, the total number of electronic archival or pop-off tags placed in North Atlantic tuna by the TAG team has reached 680. According to Dr Block, "What makes this effort more remarkable in January 2003 is that despite the very challenging weather conditions we faced, we accomplished our goals in 11 actual fishing days." Then she added that those who were present knew that 8 of the 11 days were not exactly the most pleasant conditions for fishing. In spite of the weather, TAG 2003 averaged just over 11 bluefins tagged per day.
For more information on the Tag-A-Giant Bluefin Tuna Monitoring Program, read the Sportsman NewsBreaker in the upcoming March issue of North Carolina Sportsman Magazine.
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