Tag along with conservation - Tagging GT.

[Ed Nicholas]

Helping or hurting?www.noboundariesoman.com

[Luke Ryan]

Great work Ed! your doing a top job and I'm sure there is plenty of us GT fisho's keen to learn the results from your tagging! Good Luck.

[Charles Cintron]

Howzit Ed,

Right on with the tagging effort I know a lot of GT Hunters would love to read the info you plan on gathering including myself. With you and Ocean Active out of Oman you guys could really gather some info. With only 1 recapture out of 500 I would say that is pretty good but how many guys are fishing for GT's out there who are "Local"? I've seen some vids on you tube with truck loads of GT's headed for the market along with sharks, that sucks. Are those guys sending you info?

Here in Hawaii we take both sides. I think it's pretty well known that locals in Hawaii eat GT, I have myself. My parents still laugh at me for throwing fish back after all the time and money spent catching them. Its the norm here, although I will say most people would rather eat other fish. When we go fishing for Ulua it becomes a family and friends event mostly from the shore. People gather together set the poles out, BBQ, and spend time catching up and enjoying life in Hawaii. When we catch an Ulua from shore its a special event and the fish is shared with everyone. When someone catches an Ulua from the shore here it is an accomplishment. Catching Ulua is even talked about in Hawaiian history and legends, if you go to our museum about Hawaiian history you will see Ulua hanging from the ceilings on display. Then on the other hand there's the sportsman side of us who want to release the GT's and a lot of us do in Hawaii. Its a double edge sword but everyone respects each other. As I tell everyone I have had the opportunity to talk with outside of Hawaii "it is what it is". Personally I have no feelings about it.

My buddies and I have tagged a bunch of fish in the past few years and have had 3 recaptures. Hawaii had a tagging program for GT including Juveniles which included the Bluefin trevally, "Daimond Trevally", and a few other species of the family that lasted for over ten years and ended April of this year. If you would like some help with your research let me know and I will try to get some info on how Hawaii's tagging program worked. I am sure they would be more than happy to share info and results with you.

For the record my buddies and I have had 3 recaptures> One in the same general area and two others on different parts of the Island I live on. When we get notice of a recapture information is shared between the anglers including if the fish was released or consumed. Unfortunately all our fish was consumed, one by a shark lol. But like I said it is what it is and I hope the fish they caught which we released were shared by friends and family of the angler.

Here is a pic of a letter which the state tagging department would send to an angler which tagged a fish and the final report in April 2013 from the "Ulua Tagging Project". If you would like some photocopies let me know and I will send them to you.

Awesome Ed look forward to the results of your research.

Aloha,

Charles

[Mark Harris]

It is hard for me to imagine anyone not supporting an initiative like this Ed.

And Charles - great information there and thank you or sharing.

Sat tagging opens up a whole new world of information and who knows what we might learn.  Cost is a big issue with such programmes I know, and I really hope that both ordinary anglers and those companies who make money out of us, feel they are able to help with that. The more PAT tags purchased and placed, the more we will learn.

[Ed Nicholas]

Thank you for the support Luke, Mark & Charles 

Charles the tagging project they have been running there looks very professional and i would love to receive as much info as you can possibly get on that - [email protected]

I love the Ulua tradition and value/respect the Hawaiian people give the fish and mother nature in general. Im sure when the tradition started there was no need for thought on conservation, providing it wasnt a weekly event i doubt this tradition would have made a significant effect on GT numbers? I am sure it is the same everywhere - Commercial fishing is where the damage is done. 

You may see the one or two videos of a boat full of GTs coming from over here but this is a freak occurrence. Almost all of the fishing in Oman is by small local boats who handline live sardines or dead bait. I have seen GT come in the boat with small hooks in them but good luck taming a monster GT on handline, they just cant land them as you can imagine. If the opportunity arises then they will try to net them but it really isnt common.

I visit the ice factories where they store the fish in the remote villages every week and i know them well enough now that i get a call when something of interest comes in. They call if they receive any GT, Billfish or large Sharks. I have seen only a handful of big GT over the past 2 years but some mega Marlin and Sharks. I see huge numbers of other Trevally though, literally tonnes of Big eye, Black tip, Yellow spot & other species they can handle with their hands.

There are a decent number of traditional Dhows that fish drift nets but it is mainly pelagic species they end up with. Alot of the nets you do see on the reef here are for crays which is a terrible way devastate the coral. As alarming as this amount of fish my seem it is still tiny numbers compared to super trawlers. I met some guys from a Tuna fleet here in Salalah and their yield of fish was mind blowing. The Tuna comes off the moving factory packaged in a can and ready for the supermarket! 

Rich Foong from Ripple fisher will be supporting the GT sPAT project by donating a limited edition GT stick for auction. More info will follow on that.

We will also be running a raffle which can be entered by making a $50 donation towards the sPAT Tags. We are still working on a variety of prizes but if you are reading this and make lures or any other type of tackle that you can donate for a cool prize then let me know. Everyone who supports the project will be acknowledge  I have put in 2 free days fishing with No Boundaries as a prize ..

For info on how to donate or help feel free to contact us on [email protected]

[Mark Harris]

Great to hear that Ripple Fisher will be supporting the fund raising effort for this programme.

I am certainly no lure manufacturer (!) but will donate tackle to any auction to support this - start with a Gamma 200.

[Ed Nicholas]

Bloody hell .. go on Mark 

[Andrew Smith]

Again congratulations Ed, a fantastic project and getting something of this magnitude off the ground takes a serious amount of time and effort. The future potential knowledge of a project such as this is extraordinary. Some of the research completed here is Australia on species such as Southern Bluefin Tuna has lead to even more questions being asked about the species and driven further research investigation. I am seriously looking forward to lending support to this in any way I can!

[Charles Cintron]

Howzit Ed,

I will contact a friend and get you some information and contacts about Hawaii's Tagging program, I am sure they will be happy to help you with your research. That's great that even the local fish markets are helping you.

Aloha,

Charles

[John Cahill]

Bloody well done Ed!  Fantastic initiative and we will support this any way we can - count us in for a voucher.  Brilliant!

[dante green]

Awesome job!!

cheers.

D

[Ed Nicholas]

Thanks all .. managed to pick up a huge net in Thailand that i am going to give a test run once the season starts again. Be great to find another way of getting the fish in the boat rather than mouth gaffing the beast.

I really think we will eventually just release these fish without bringing them in the boat. Sounds crazy not to have your trophy pic but fresh water fishermen have long set the standard in catch & release and you see a lot of the fly guides not allowing Anglers to lift the fish out of the water.

Amazes me the amount of pictures going round with huge dead Tuna, Billfish & Sharks. This isnt something we dont know about, the research is there. Just watch Discovery or Nat Geo for a day to learn we have nearly wiped out these species and to still see Pro guys killing these fish is very sad.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Congratulations on the Sat Tag initiative. I like it 

[Andy Rowe]

Ed, Brilliant.

Look forward to trying to put a grey london bus into that net for you.

[Ed Nicholas]

Thanks Luke. Andy it was you who really pushed my thoughts on the net and made me think to give it a go, thanks mate.