279 
Abstract-From 2003 to 2006, 44,882 
Yellowtail Flounder (Limanda ferru- 
ginea) were captured and released 
with conventional disc tags in the 
western North Atlantic as part of 
a cooperative Yellowtail Flounder 
tagging study. From these releases, 
3767 of the tags were recovered. The 
primary objectives of this tagging 
program were to evaluate the mor- 
tality and large-scale movement of 
Yellowtail Flounder among 3 stock 
areas in New England. To explore 
mortality, survival and recovery 
rate were estimated from traditional 
Brownie tag-recovery models fitted 
to the data with Program MARK. 
Models were examined with time- 
and sex-dependent parameters over 
several temporal scales. The models 
with a monthly scale for both sur- 
vival and recovery rate had the best 
overall fit and returned parameter 
estimates that were biologically rea- 
sonable. Estimates of survival from 
the tag-recovery models confirm the 
general magnitude of total mortality 
derived from age-based stock assess- 
ments but indicate that survival was 
greater for females than for males. 
In addition to calculating mortality 
estimates, we examined the pattern 
of release and recapture locations 
and revealed frequent movements 
within stock areas and less frequent 
movement among stock areas. The 
collaboration of fishermen and sci- 
entists for this study successfully re- 
sulted in independent confirmation 
of previously documented patterns of 
movement and mortality rates from 
conventional age-based analyses. 
Manuscript submitted 9 April 2012. 
Manuscript accepted 31 May 2013. 
doi 10.7755/FB. 11 1.3.6 
Fish. Bull. 111:279-287 (2013). 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necesarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Mortality and movement of Yellowtail Flounder 
{Limanda ferrugined) tagged off New England 
Anthony D. Wood (contact author)' 
Steven X. Cadrin 2 
Email address for contact author: anthony.wood@noaa.gov 
1 Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA 
166 Water Street 
Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 
2 School for Marine Science and Technology 
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 
200 Mill Road, Suite 325 
Fairhaven, Massachusetts 02719 
The Yellowtail Flounder ( Limanda 
ferruginea ) is one of the principal re- 
sources of the groundfish complex in 
the northeastern United States, with 
major fishing grounds on Georges 
Bank, off southern New England, 
and off Cape Cod. The fishery for 
Yellowtail Flounder is among the 
most productive and valuable in New 
England, yielding 1832.5 metric tons 
and $4.78 million to U.S. fishermen 
in 2011 (NMFS, 2012). Flowever, the 
potential yield of Yellowtail Floun- 
der is much greater than the current 
yield. The estimated maximum sus- 
tainable yield from the 3 stocks in 
New England is 29,483.5 metric tons 
(NEFSC 1 ). The 3 stock areas exam- 
ined in this study were Cape Cod- 
Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and 
southern New England-Mid-Atlantic. 
Despite substantial investments 
in sampling Yellowtail Flounder 
fisheries and resources, uncertainty 
persists in the age-based stock as- 
sessments from the 2008 Ground- 
fish Assessment Review Meeting of 
1 NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Cen- 
ter). 2008. Assessment of 19 north- 
east groundfish stocks through 2007: re- 
port of the 3rd Groundfish Assessment 
Review Meeting (GARM III), Northeast 
Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, 
MA, 4-8 August 2008. NMFS, Northeast 
Fish. Sci. Cent. Ref. Doc. 08-15, 884 p. + 
xvii. [Available from National Marine 
Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, 
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026.] 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
(NEFSC 1 ). The sources of this un- 
certainty are not well understood 
but may result from the movement 
of flounder among stock areas, lack 
of information on the effect of closed 
areas on population dynamics, insuf- 
ficient surveying of areas closed to 
fishing, inaccurate age determina- 
tions, misrepresentative sampling of 
distributional patterns, underreport- 
ed catch, or inaccurate assumptions 
about natural mortality (NEFSC 1 ). 
In 2002, a cooperative tagging study 
was designed to provide independent 
information on mortality and move- 
ment, to complement the current 
stock assessment methods for Yellow- 
tail Flounder, and to improve the re- 
liability of scientific advice for effec- 
tive fishery management (NEFSC 2 ). 
Movement of Yellowtail Flounder 
off New England has been addressed 
2 NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science 
Center), Workshop Organizing Commit- 
tee (S. Tallack, ed., R Rago, chairperson, 
T. Brawn, workshop coordinator, and (al- 
phabetically) S. Cadrin, J. Hoey, and L. 
Taylor Singer). 2005. Proceedings of 
a workshop to review and evaluate the 
design and utility of fish mark-recap- 
ture projects in the northeastern United 
States; Nonantum Resort, Kennebunk- 
port, Maine, 19-21 October 2004. U.S. 
Dep. Commer., Northeast Fish. Sci. 
Cent. Ref. Doc. 05-02; 141 p. [Available 
from National Marine Fisheries Service, 
166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543- 
1026.] 
