July 6, 2015 at 3:36 pm
[caption id="attachment_815" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Tags similar to this one were attached to hundreds of fish in the St. John River.[/caption]
Anglers who fish the St. John River in northern Maine should be on the lookout for small plastic tags attached to smallmouth bass and muskellunge in the river. The tags are printed with an ID number and a phone number.
“If you catch one of these fish, please call us and let us know the number on the tag, where you caught the fish, how big it was and whether you kept it or released it,” says IFW Fisheries biologist Jeremiah Wood.
The tags are part of an ongoing fisheries research project by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Ashland regional office to learn more about these two fish species that are not native to the river.
[caption id="attachment_814" align="alignright" width="592"]
Fish are tagged right next to the dorsal fin. If an angler catches a tagged fish, please call the phone number on the tag, and let your biologists know the ID number on the tag, where it was caught,and how large the fish is.[/caption]
“This will give us a better understanding of their movements, and their survival and growth rates in the river,” said Wood, who is overseeing the project.
Biologists captured and tagged 250 fish last week in an approximate 40-mile stretch of river from Fort Kent to Grand Isle. Each fish was weighed, measured, aged, and recorded where it was caught. A small plastic tag was affixed to the fish next to the dorsal fin, and then the fish were released. Each tag has an ID number printed on one side, and the phone number for the IFW Ashland Regional Office on the other side.
“When the fish is recaptured, we can then compare that same information with data collected at the time of tagging,” said Wood.
This is year two of the study, as 175 fish were tagged and released last year. Biologists are already receiving phone calls and information concerning the tagged fish.
“We are getting information on movement of the fish. One bass moved about ten miles and has grown about two inches,” said Wood. “Calls are also giving us an idea where people are fishing.”
Smallmouth bass have been present in the St. John for about 15 years, muskellunge have been in the river since the early 1970s.
Tags similar to this one were attached to hundreds of fish in the St. John River.[/caption]
Anglers who fish the St. John River in northern Maine should be on the lookout for small plastic tags attached to smallmouth bass and muskellunge in the river. The tags are printed with an ID number and a phone number.
“If you catch one of these fish, please call us and let us know the number on the tag, where you caught the fish, how big it was and whether you kept it or released it,” says IFW Fisheries biologist Jeremiah Wood.
The tags are part of an ongoing fisheries research project by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Ashland regional office to learn more about these two fish species that are not native to the river.
[caption id="attachment_814" align="alignright" width="592"] Fish are tagged right next to the dorsal fin. If an angler catches a tagged fish, please call the phone number on the tag, and let your biologists know the ID number on the tag, where it was caught,and how large the fish is.[/caption]
“This will give us a better understanding of their movements, and their survival and growth rates in the river,” said Wood, who is overseeing the project.
Biologists captured and tagged 250 fish last week in an approximate 40-mile stretch of river from Fort Kent to Grand Isle. Each fish was weighed, measured, aged, and recorded where it was caught. A small plastic tag was affixed to the fish next to the dorsal fin, and then the fish were released. Each tag has an ID number printed on one side, and the phone number for the IFW Ashland Regional Office on the other side.
“When the fish is recaptured, we can then compare that same information with data collected at the time of tagging,” said Wood.
This is year two of the study, as 175 fish were tagged and released last year. Biologists are already receiving phone calls and information concerning the tagged fish.
“We are getting information on movement of the fish. One bass moved about ten miles and has grown about two inches,” said Wood. “Calls are also giving us an idea where people are fishing.”
Smallmouth bass have been present in the St. John for about 15 years, muskellunge have been in the river since the early 1970s.
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