^ A 



Figure 1. — Types of dart tags used by the cooperative 

 tagging programs. 



monofilament for printed information. All tags used 

 by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the 

 California Department of Fish and Game were 

 manufactured by the Floy Tag Manufacturing 

 Company, Seattle, Washington.^ On all the tags, a 

 serial number and a message are heat-embossed in 

 black. The legend gives an address for return, to- 

 gether with a notice that a reward will be given. In 

 the early years of the cooperative program the 

 Woods Hole Oceanographic program used the type 

 "C" tags (Fig. IC) in the Pacific. In later years tags 

 of an "H" type were used (Fig. ID). 



Upon bringing the billfish close to the boat the 

 angler was instructed to insert the tag beside the 

 dorsal fin, just posterior of the first dorsal ray, and 

 at an angle so the tubing points in the general direc- 

 tion of the tail. This was done to provide a stream- 

 lining effect of the water flow over the tubing. After 

 insertion, the leader was to be cut, thereby releas- 

 ing the fish and leaving the hook and a portion of the 

 leader attached. If necessary, it was recommended 

 that the billfish be towed forward slowly before re- 

 cuse of a trade name does not imply endorsement by the Na- 

 tional Marine Fisheries Service. 



lease to provide an additional supply of oxygen to 

 assist in reviving the fish. 



Tags were attached to a postcard having the se- 

 rial number of the tag. After tagging the angler was 

 requested to complete the information on tagging 

 date, location, species, estimate of weight, tagger's 

 name and address, and return it to the organization 

 issuing the tag. 



TAGGING RESULTS 



In the early 1960's, the Japanese longline fleet 

 began fishing near the coasts of North, Central, and 

 South America. The advent of this fishery has pro- 

 vided an invaluable source of billfish tag recoveries. 

 Prior to 1963. a good source of recovery for billfish 

 tags had not existed in the eastern Pacific. 



Cooperating marine game fish anglers have 

 tagged 15,540 billfishes in the Pacific since 1954. 



Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution records 

 for the period 1954 through 1971, show 3,618 

 tagged billfish releases (Mather. 1972). The Na- 

 tional Marine Fisheries Service program resulted 

 in the tagging and release of 10,964 billfishes. The 

 distribution of tagging effort for the 14.582 billfish 

 tagged by the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution/National Marine Fisheries Service 

 Cooperative Marine Game Fish Tagging Program 

 included 8,953 striped marlin, 248 blue marlin, 622 

 black marlin, and 4,759 sailfish. The State of 

 California Department of Fish and Game con- 

 ducted a cooperative tagging program with selected 

 billfish anglers and this program functioned during 

 the period 1965-1970. Of a total of 958 billfishes 

 tagged, 896 were striped marlin and 62 sailfish. 



A total of 9,849 striped marlin, 622 black marlin, 

 248 blue marlin, and 4,821 sailfish was tagged by the 

 cooperative programs. The totals and numbers of 

 the four species of billfishes tagged per year and the 

 number of recoveries (for each year's tagging) are 

 listed by tagging organization in Table 1 . 



Recoveries 



Between 1954 and 1963. no returns were reported 

 in the Pacific for the 945 billfishes tagged and re- 

 leased. From 1963 through 1971 a total of 97 tagged 

 billfishes was recaptured. Foreign longliners re- 

 corded 79 recoveries or 81% of the total. One of 

 these was by a Taiwanese longliner; the others were 

 recovered by Japanese longliners. Marine game 

 fishermen have accounted for 18 recoveries or 19% 



228 



