VIMS

Game fish program recognizes top taggers for 2011

Volunteers in Virginia’s Game Fish Tagging Program tagged more than 19,000 fish in 2011, and on February 24, program officials recognized the volunteer anglers who out-competed their colleagues in any of 12 categories, including most tagged fish overall, most recaptured fish, and most tagged fish of a single species. First-place taggers in each category received a plaque, and runners-up received a tackle bucket with fishing gear provided by Bass Pro Shop.

"Throughout the 17-year history of the Tagging Program, there’s a lot that we’ve discovered through tag-and-release fishing," says Susanna Musick, Tagging Program coordinator at VIMS and Virginia Sea Grant Marine Recreation Specialist.

“One exciting thing we learned through the taggers’ data was that there seems to have been a large influx of juvenile speckled trout in 2011,” she says. During the year, participating anglers tagged more than 12,500 speckled trout and recaptured nearly 900. These results are important because speckled trout have had one of the lowest recapture rates amongst the targeted species in the Tagging Program.

The recapture rate rose from 2.4% in 2010 to to 7% in 2011 and speckled trout became the top-tagged species for the second year in a row. The program provides a mechanism for documenting these year-to-year and seasonal fluctuations through concentrated tagging effort. These results also show the growing popularity of speckled trout as a game fish species.

The Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program has been a cooperative project of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) for more than 17 years.

Some of the top taggers of 2011 came to Bass Pro Shop to be recognized for their efforts. Front, L-R: Donnie Smith, Jim Robinson, Carl Stover; Back, L-R: Susanna Musick, Wayne Rowe, Sheldon Arey, Ed Shepherd, and Lewis Gillingham. Photo by William Sweatt/VASG.Supported by funding from Virginia’s saltwater license funds and VIMS, the program provides data on migration patterns and habitat utilization of 10 species of recreationally important finfish. By donating their time, the volunteer taggers provide fisheries managers with unique data unavailable elsewhere.

“The Game Fish Tagging Program is only possible because of the anglers who volunteer their time to fish, tag, collect, and report data,” Musick said. “We’re very lucky to have such an extraordinary group of volunteers who contribute to this important source of recreational fisheries data.”

2011 Tagger Award Winners
Most Tagged Fish Overall
  • Ed Shepherd
  • Sheldon Arey
Most Recaptures
  • Ed Shepherd
  • Donnie Smith
Most Tagged Black Drum
  • Jim Robinson
  • Carl Stover
Most Tagged Black Sea Bass
  • Ed Shepherd
  • Rob Collins
Most Tagged Cobia
  • Captain Jorj Head
  • Brian Watkins
Most Tagged Flounder
  • Ed Shepherd
  • Captain Mike Handforth
Most Tagged Red Drum
  • Jim Robinson
  • Captain Ed Lawrence
Most Tagged Sheepshead
  • Wayne Rowe
  • Rob Collins
Most Tagged Spadefish
  • Carl Stover
  • Jim Robinson
Most Tagged Speckled Trout
  • Ed Shepherd
  • Sheldon Arey
Most Tagged Tautog
  • Rob Collins
  • Sam Sellard
Most Tagged Triggerfish
  • Rob Collins
  • Rick Guyot