S.Oman March/April round up @ No Boundaries Oman

[Ed Nicholas]

Brad - yep a few fish there on Sebile Splashers. They seem to work very well here and what i really like about the lures is that most of them seem to last a very long time. I have some 'high end' poppers that get smashed and after a couple of monster geets its game over but i have a red head/white body Sebile that is now retired and sleeps under my pillow that landed 2 x 60kg+, 4 x 50kg+ and lots of 30/40s! Beaten up but still strong! On the note of stuff that works though i really dont think these fish are that fussy . . just very angry and hungry!

Aaron - I have tried telling as many locals as poss, one told me they had a Sailfish in a net that was tagged and they thought it was an 'illegal' fish or something so they cut the tag out and threw it away Guess all i can do is try and you are right the day i get a tag back i will be super stoked!

Dre - S'up dawg, pls do send me that info you get back on the geet, very interesting. Amazed the Yellow tail travelled so far in 26 days! Especially as a relatively small fish, where does all that energy come from! Once on the currents those things must cover serious ground.

Vincenzo - You running the Socotra trips right? Sweet as brother, looks gnarly as hell! If you come accross a tag then hit me up! Looking at the fish you guys get there they seem like the same monsters . . one of the only places more virgin than the Hallaniyats in terms of number of lures fish have seen. Wonderful island, enjoy & tight drags!

[Mark Harris]

Ed, do your local commercial fisherman catch many GTs?

Amongst those tons of ribbon fish coming in I remember seeing sailfish, golden trevally, sharks and various scombrids. I guess they are fishing mostly deeper waters so GTs are not caught that often? Nonetheless, those guys would have to be a potential source of tagged fish for you.

[Luke Wyrsta]

I don't think the GTs become too gun-shy if managed properly, in fact, we caught multiple GTs with hook wounds no more than a week old. It was unmistakable. I make that statement in the light that it is managed correctly with spots and areas "rested".

There are also been instances in Tokara where GT's have busted off, to be caught again with the lure still lodged in the mouth/throat. They show incredible resiliance and are the perfect showcase for catch and release fishing, bar none.

It will be interesting to see how the fishery in managed from an ethical point of view in the coming years. The grounds are relatively small and it will call on responsible work from all operators involved to keep this fishery in prime condition. I wish the best of luck to all parties involved 

I mentioned to Nick whilst I was in Oman, to keep as visual database of GTs for future comparison. A lot of the blotches and striations are permanent and it will only be a matter of time until these are used a visual identification cards to identify repeat captures (I discussed and witnessed proof of this in Tokara - it blew my world wide open).

[Ed Nicholas]

Mark - The locals dont target the Geets but do end up with the occasional one when they put nets down (Which i dont see very often). They spend most of their time at the islands hand lining for Emperor, Grouper and all the the other bottom fish that will take a dead bait. I have seen some big girls in the freezer on the island and even a few inshore. In fact we landed a total of 7 inshore and i saw what i think was the biggest geet of the season SMASH a huge Garfish/Long tom/Green Marlin right next to the boat while fishing for Bream!

Maybe GTs in different places have different behaviours, i personaly feel that they def change their feeding habits after eating a popper/SB . . i have not had 1 recatch which only supports this theory (maybe just unlucky!).

Surely there is no easier way to register a re-capture than tagging the fish? With visual records you will spend so much time looking through pics to see if the fish is a recapture. Also have the opportunity to gather info if a tag is returned from a different location which would be really exciting. Either way is a step in the right direction though and yes the management of the fishery is priority number 1

[Luke Wyrsta]

Surely there is no easier way to register a re-capture than tagging the fish? With visual records you will spend so much time looking through pics to see if the fish is a recapture. Also have the opportunity to gather info if a tag is returned from a different location which would be really exciting. Either way is a step in the right direction though and yes the management of the fishery is priority number 1

Simply an anecdote Ed, and based on many seasons experience. Used in conjunction with tagging - it's a very usueful reference. As Amr mentions, there have been many fish compared, via dated photos and visual cues where the capture has been some 8 years later (perhaps more that I'm not aware of). It was simply fascinating and may prove useful in some shape of form - particularly, in your area where tags may not be returned.

200 captures is great work but really is miniscule in the scheme of Omanie GT populations - which would number in tens of thousands plus! It's great work but it could take several seasons or more to possible get the right odds of re-capturing the tagged fish.

It's great to see you with these results in your first season of operation/GT fishing - keep it up! 

[Ed Nicholas]

Matching tagged fish with a picture is a great idea i think, heaps of pictures are taken of each fish anyway so wouldnt be difficult.

Sure 200 Geets is not even the tip of the iceberg in terms of number of fish here but someone has to start somewhere. Unlike Australia where Reefs/fish are managed very well and most Anglers are conservation minded there is no one else doing anything of this kind in the Middle East yet. There is one gentleman running Shark Quest Arabia which is awesome, the fining industry is massive over here.

The locals here have actually approached me angrily a few times because we release fish. They geuinely believe that once you release a fish it tells its buddies and they all become harder to catch. When asked now i just tell them we have not caught anything to avoid the confrontation 

Appreciate the thoughts, idea's and support. . we will start with matching tags/pictures for sure.

[Mark Harris]

I am not so sure that 200 tagged fish over approx 35 kgs is that small a proportion of the population? I can see that the Hallaniyats will have tens of thousands of GTs. But of that size, I would imagine a lot less?  Luke, any thoughts on that from past experiences?  It is certainly interesting to speculate about populations of the larger GTs.

LOL at the fish warning its friends . Love that idea.

Tags and picture matching sounds like a great idea.  Just a couple of evenings ago I was speaking to some guys local to me who are producing a photographic survey of the Manta population here.  Apparently every single specimen has a unique pattern, rather like big cats.... could be a similar principle applied to GTs (albeit the differences are probably less obvious).

This is a very interesting thread.

[Luke Wyrsta]

I am not so sure that 200 tagged fish over approx 35 kgs is that small a proportion of the population? I can see that the Hallaniyats will have tens of thousands of GTs. But of that size, I would imagine a lot less?  Luke, any thoughts on that from past experiences?  It is certainly interesting to speculate about populations of the larger GTs.

Mark, my observation of primitive charts and other tell tale signs indicated via the island topography and area indicate a vast area of uncharted reefs, pinnicles and access points - all supplied by nutrient and bait rich water coming from the shelf - which is very close. These areas will be uncovered in the years to come and thus, will spread the footprint and hopefully result in less pressure. It wouldn't surprise me if there are multiple shoals of 35kg fish numbering over 50 per, and obviously incrementallly larger - or, with much larger "guardian" / dominant GTs. It truely is an impressive place - which leads to my understanding that the islands are a spawning/orgy meeting point  So to answer your question, a large concentration of BIG fish, is not anything uncommon at all.

[Mark Harris]

Very interesting POV Luke and thanks for answering so fully.

I guess we will all get to learn lots more about this relatively new fishery over the next few years, and it's great that Ed's pioneering work there with tagging is laying a foundation for that future knowledge bank.

[Peter Olesen]

[Brian J Richardson]

Ed buddy, on the tagging and other conservation work you do, absolutely natural of course just as you say. GTPopping.com being bizarrely blacklisted by the Oman censors does make it hard for you to keep in touch here I know!

Hey guys I live in Oman and GTPopping.com is not banned...Uh I'm logged on right now...and do regularly...I think he is saying he has connectivity problems due to the signal.

[Ed Nicholas]

Brian - Thats wierd? I def have signal but trying have tried to log on in Salalah and in Ash Shuwaymiah and in both places i get a message saying its blocked. Where are you based & what service provider do you use? We are on Nawras . .

[Ben Lovelace]

Hey Ed,
Try www.identitycloaker.com

[Andre van Wyk]

Dre - S'up dawg, pls do send me that info you get back on the geet, very interesting. Amazed the Yellow tail travelled so far in 26 days! Especially as a relatively small fish, where does all that energy come from! Once on the currents those things must cover serious ground.

Ed - So some even more crazy info for you.... after the craziness with that yellowtail myself and my buddy Warwick tagged that travelled so far, then was caught in my hometown by a guy I grew up with, I got the info back from the recent GT we caught up at Linene in Mozambique which had a tag in it...

And get this.... it was tagged by none other than my buddy Warwick a year and a half ago!!!!  How mad is that!??!?!?!?

Details below:

Originally tagged 24th November 2010
Length: 880mm Fork
Location: St.Sabastian
Angler: Warwick Leslie

Recaught: 21 May 2012
Lenght: 910mm
Locaion: St.Sabastian
Angler: Barry Miller

So the fish had been free 544 days and grown 30mm but had styed very resident to the area, despite the difference in season...

Here is a pic of the fish when caught orginally ( Warwick and fish on the right ):


And when it was recaptured by Barry Miller in May this year...



Fish was taken on Jig on both occasions....

I just think its pretty crazy how I was involved in some way with both recaptures, and one of the taggings, and Warwick is one of my best mates!!!!

[Jay Burgess]

Dre, that's some crazy info there!! 

It's so interesting to compare the fish in the two different pics..