First marlin archival tagging study suggests new direction for research
Michael L. Domeier A D , Sofia Ortega-Garcia B , Nicole Nasby-Lucas A and Paxson Offield CA Marine Conservation Science Institute, PO Box 7140 Kamuela, HI 96743, USA.
B Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR), Avenida IPN s/n, Colonia Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz B.C.S, C.P., 23096. Mexico.
C Deceased. Formerly at Offield Family Foundation, 151 Kalmus, Suite A-204, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, USA.
D Corresponding author. Email: ml.domeier@gmail.com
Marine and Freshwater Research 70(4) 603-608 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18160
Submitted: 16 April 2018 Accepted: 15 October 2018 Published: 7 December 2018
Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2019 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Decades of billfish tagging studies have been hindered by below-par conventional tag recovery rates and high rates of premature satellite pop-up tag shedding. With hopes of obtaining long-term tracking data, we performed the world’s first archival tagging study on an istiophorid, surgically implanting 99 archival tags into the peritoneal cavity of striped marlin (Kajikia audax) off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Marlin were also tagged externally with a conventional tag before release. Ten archival tags (10.1%) were recovered with days at liberty (DAL) ranging from 400 to 2795. Nine recoveries were from Mexican waters, whereas one marlin was recaptured off Ecuador. In total, 100% of the light stalks on the archival tags failed, with nine failing within the first 3 months of deployment; because the light data are used to estimate the geographic position of the tagged fish, tracking data were compromised. The absence of conventional tags on all recaptured marlin indicates that studies of marlin using conventional tags have been hindered by tag shedding rather than tagging-associated mortality or underreporting. Our high recapture rate and long DAL suggest istiophorid science could be greatly advanced by archival tagging if new tag designs or methods can eliminate tag failure.
Additional keywords: archival tag, billfish, conventional tag, growth rate, stock structure, striped marlin.
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