VIRGINIA GAME FISH TAGGING PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT 2004 Jon A. Lucy Claude M. Bain III WILLIAM& MARY Virginia Marine Resource Report Number 2005-3 Historic Harrison's Fishing Pier (built 1947 at West Ocean View Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia; destroyed by Hurricane Isabel September 18, 2003) Photo courtesy of Mr. Mike Harrison, Taylor’s Landing Marine Center, 8166 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23518 (757-572-8367 Mobile). If interested, two sizes (8 x 32 in. or 9.5 x 40 in.) of the “limited edition” photograph are available for sale by contacting Mr. Harrison. As with other Hampton Roads' fishing piers lost to Hurricane Isabel, anglers using Harrison's Pier contributed data on tagged and recaptured fish to the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program. Sharing a sense of the importance of the pier to Norfolk's anglers and the Ocean View Community as a whole, the Tagging Program coordinators join many others in celebrating the pier rebuilding project. Cover Photographs: -upper left, Ken Neill releasing tagged black drum (photo: Ken Neill) -lower left, Rick Burnley releasing a 48 inch tagged red drum off stern of boat (photo: Chuck Harrison). -middle top, Chuck Harrison releasing 46-inch tagged cobia (photo: Stan Gold) -lower middle, Chuck Harrison releasing a medium-size tagged red drum (photo: Rick Burnley) -upper right, Bob Manus releasing a tagged tautog (photo: Ken Neill) -lower right, tagged speckled trout released by Chris Newcome (photo: VIMS Sea Grant) This work is the result of research supported in part by NOAA Office of Sea Grant, U.S. Department of Commerce, under grant No. NA96RG0025 to the Virginia Graduate Marine Science Consortium and the Virginia Sea Grant College Program Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2004* *(and 2003 update) Jon A. Lucy, Marine Recreation Specialist Virginia Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program Virginia Institute of Marine Science College of William and Mary P.O. Box 1346 Gloucester Point, VA 23062 (804) 684-7166 [email protected] Claude M. Bain III, Director Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament Virginia Marine Resources Commission 968 Oriole Dr. South, Suite 102 Virginia Beach, VA 23451 (757) 491-5160 [email protected] 2005 VIMS Marine Resource Report No. 2005-3 VSG-05-03 Copies available from Sea Grant Publications Office, Marine Advisory Services, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, P.O. Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA 23062 804-684-7170; e-mail [email protected] Target Species and Tagging Procedures Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program ‘Smaller’ Fish Tag Area ‘Larger’ Fish Tag Area Cobia Tautog Black Sea Bass Spadefish Speckled Trout Summer Flounder Red Drum Triggerfish Sheepshead Black Drum Table of Contents Introduction and Overview .......................................................................................................................... 1 Targeted Species.......................................................................................................................................... 1 Top Tagger and Recapture Awards ............................................................................................................. 2 Program Benefits - What's Being Learned; How Data Are Used--Species Examples .............................. 2 Flounder ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Cobia ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Tautog ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Other Program Activities and Benefits ........................................................................................................ 4 Program Organization and Management ..................................................................................................... 5 Tagging Equipment....................................................................................................................................... 8 Target Species ............................................................................................................................................. 8 2003-2004 Tagging and Recapture Results ................................................................................................. 8 Black Drum & the Chesapeake Tagging Rodeo ..................................................................................... 9 Black Sea Bass ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Cobia (including hatchery-reared juveniles) ............................................................................................ 15 Flounder ................................................................................................................................................... 22 Gray Triggerfish....................................................................................................................................... 31 Red Drum ................................................................................................................................................ 33 Sheepshead ................................................................................................................................. 36 Spadefish .................................................................................................................................... 37 Speckled Trout ............................................................................................................................ 38 Tautog ......................................................................................................................................... 39 Tables 1-8 Figures 1 - 17 Appendix Tables 2003 and 2004: by Species Tables Table 1. Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Tagging Awards 2003-2004 Table 2A. Anglers Awarded Conservation Certificates for Tagging 25 or More Fish During 2003 Table 2B. Anglers Awarded Conservation Certificates for Tagging 25 or More Fish During 2004 Table 3A. Anglers Having 7 or More Fish Recaptured During 2003 Table 3B. Anglers Having 6 or More Fish Recaptured During 2004 Table 4. Tagged-recaptured Fish and Cumulative Recapture Rates by Species by Year (2002-2004) Table 5. Flounder Long-term Recaptures (Year to Year)* Inside and Beyond Virginia Waters (2000-2004 Table 6. Non-Virginia Recaptures of Tagged Flounder at Large Year to Year * (2000-2004) Table 7. Recaptures of Tagged Adult Red Drum 2003-2004 Southern Barrier Islands, VA into Lower Bay Table 8. Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Long-Distance Speckled Trout Recaptures 2004-2005 Figures Figure 1A. Tagging gun and T-Bar tags and stainless steel dart tag and applicator Figure 1B. Number of Angler Taggers by Year and 2004 Distribution by General Residence Area Figure 2A. Total Fish Tagged and Recaptured by Species (1995-2004) Figure 2B. Total Fish Tagged and Recaptured (1995-2002/2003/2004) Figure 3. Number of Tagged Fish (1998-2004) Figure 4A. Number of Recaptured Fish (1998-2004) Figure 4B. Total Fish Recaptures by Species (1995-2002/2003/2004) Figure 4C. Cumulative Tagged Fish Recapture Rates (%) 1998-2004 Figure 5A. Cobia Recaptures: Chesapeake Bay Site Fidelity and Coastal Movement Figure 5B. Record Cobia Migration: Chesapeake Bay to Gulf of Mexico August 2000 to May 2004 Figure 6. Summer Flounder Tagging Locations by Effort Figure 7. Summer Flounder Site Fidelity Within Years (2001-2004) Figure 8A. Flounder Site Fidelity Buckroe Pier 2001-2003; Single and Multiple Recaptures of Tagged Fish Figure 8B. Flounder Site Fidelity Buckroe Pier: Early, Mid, and Late Summer 2003; Multiple Recaptures of Tagged Fish continued Figures (continued) Figure 9A. Flounder Tagged Norfolk Naval Base Pier 2004 (Single Recaptures at Pier 2004) Figure 9B. Flounder Tagged Norfolk Naval Base Pier 2004 (Multiple Recaptures at Pier 2004) Figure 10A. Flounder Tagged Rudee Inlet 2004 (Single Recaptures at Rudee 2004) Figure 10B. Flounder Tagged Rudee 2004 (Multiple Recaptures Inlet Area 2004) Figure 11. Flounder Movement Within Chesapeake Bay by Year (2001-2004) Figure 12. Flounder Long-Term Fidelity (Yr. to Yr.) to Virginia Fishing Areas (2000-2004) Figure 13. Coastal Movement of Flounder Tagged in Virginia 2000-2004 Figure 14. Yearling Red Drum Movement from VA Power Plant Areas 2003-2004 Figure 15. Adult Red Drum Movement NC to VA Waters; Movement VA Adult Drum, Spring - Fall Figure 16. Yearling Red Drum Movement Within Chesapeake Bay Area and Chesapeake Bay to Outer Banks, NC 2002 - 2004 Figure 17. Long-Distance Speckled Trout Recaptures: 2004 - 2005 Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program 2004 (and 2003 Update) Introduction and Overview The Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP), initiated in 1995, coordinates tagging and a tag- recapture fish database generated through contributed efforts of a dedicated corps of trained marine anglers. Through 2003-2004, the program’s database includes over 78,000 records of tag-released fish and approximately 7,800 recapture records of tagged fish. Primary funding support for the tagging program is from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) using the state’s Saltwater Recreational Fishing License Funds. Annual funding proposals are submitted to VMRC’s Recreational Fishing Advisory Board for peer-review, public comment,