Professional Tarpon Tournament Series

PTTS HEADLINES

TARPON TOUR SCHEDULE

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Tarpon Catch and Release Mortality Study
Review and Discussion Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Marine Fisheries Management December 2004

Introduction:

The Commission initiated a catch-and-release mortality study of tarpon in Boca Grande Pass in 2002. The 3-year study was initiated to gather information on mortality rates of fish that anglers caught using live bait and artificial jigs, the two predominant methods of tarpon fishing in Boca Grande Pass. The issue has been contentious throughout the time frame of the study, and in February 2004 the Commission initiated rulemaking primarily to address user conflicts between the two groups of anglers. Additional rules were considered at the April 2004 meeting.

During the February 2004 meeting, preliminary study results were presented. At that time, planning was underway to complete the third year of the mortality study. Commissioners directed staff toincrease its sampling effort for the coming fishing season in order togather additional observer data on foul-hooking rates of the two techniques. At the time of the February presentation, study results did not support a conclusion that the two techniques differed in their resulting catch-and-release mortality. The reported foul-hooking rate for fishers using artificial gear was approximately 11.5%.

The Commission has enacted the following measures to date:

February 2004

• Prohibited intentional snagging of tarpon statewide. • Defined a specific area of the pass for regulatory purposes.
• Prohibited the use of more than 3 fishing lines in the water while fishing for tarpon in the specific area of the pass, during April, May, and June.
• Developed an informational brochure and coordinated an outreach and enforcement effort for the 2004 fishing season

April 2004

• Extended the prohibition on using more than 3 lines to all types of fishing for the designated area of the pass, during the months of April, May, and June.

• Prohibited the use of “breakaway” gear in the designated area of Boca Grande Pass. Breakaway gear was defined in the rule to include tackle intentionally designed to drop or break off the weight during the course of fighting and landing a tarpon.

Study Results and Conclusions:

An executive summary of the catch-and-release mortality study found no significant differences in post-release survival rates of tarpon caught by either of the two primary fishing techniques. Researchers identified predation by sharks as the main factor in post-release mortality. All visually confirmed mortalities (4 out of 41 tagged fish) were the result of shark attacks.

The analysis of hook placements during the 3-year study showed a foul-hooking rate of approximately 11% for jigs, and 0% for live bait fishing. Commission staff has consistently used the following definition of a foul-hooked tarpon: a fish hooked in any part of the body other than the mouth (tail, head, eye, fins, etc.).

Although foul-hooking percentages were significantly different between fishing methods, the 11% rate for jigs is not unusually high when compared to other data. The absence of any foul hooking for live bait techniques employed in the study is considered atypical. No relationship was found between foul hooking and post-release mortality rates.

Staff Recommendation:

Division of Marine Fisheries Management staff recommends no further action to address tarpon fishing in Boca Grande Pass at this time.

Although this remains a contentious issue between the two primary groups of anglers using either live bait or artificial jigs, the study results presented do not indicate that either gear is resulting in unacceptable levels of catch-and-release fishing mortality. Further, although the foul-hooking rate of jigs is significantly higher than for fish caught using live baits, the observed foul-hooking rate is consistent with levels observed in other studies.