The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station is piloting a volunteer summer flounder tagging program led by Dr. Douglas Zemeckis from Rutgers University to study the seasonal fluke migrations between offshore habitats and the back bays of New Jersey.
“We are in the second year of our program and have 16 hardworking volunteer fluke anglers from Sandy Hook to Cape May tagging summer flounder with external green Floy t-bar tags,” said Chase Wunder, a graduate research assistant with Rutgers Marine Field Station on the Great Bay.
In addition to their volunteer tagging program, Wunder said he and his team is tagging 60 summer flounder 16 inches and greater with internal acoustic transmitters tags. “These fish are being captured and released in Barnegat Bay, Great Bay, and the back bays of Avalon,” Wunder said, adding “These acoustic transmitters allow us to track the timing of estuary departure, entrance, and the potential inter-estuary connectivity.”
The fluke that have been tagged with internal acoustic transmitters are also tagged externally with orange Floy t-bar tags. “Any angler that reports the capture of tagged fish will be entered in a raffle for monetary awards at the end of the season,” Wunder noted.
If a tagged fish is captured with either green or orange t-bar tags, anglers can report the following information by calling 856-391-7652. Researchers are hoping to collect the following information for their ongoing work:
– Tag ID#
– Date Caught
– Location Caught (Approximate LAT/LON, or physical landmark)
– Fish Length
– Water Depth (to help with location if no coordinates are given)
– Health and Condition of Fish
“If the fish is undersize and not harvested, we ask that the fish is released with the tag still attached,” said Wunder, adding he and his team hope to continue to grow the program in the future as more resources are obtained.