ANNUAL REPORT Jon A. Lucy 2006 Claude M. Bain III Virginia Marine Resource Report Number 2007-1 For better views of Figures 1-18, access color version of report on VIMS web page http://www.vims.edu/adv/recreation/tag/index.html Cover Art: Aard-Alltuf Screenprinters Norfolk, VA 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 2006 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] May 2006 VIMS Marine Resource Report No. 2007-1 VSG-07-01 Copies available online at www.vims.edu/adv/recreation/; also 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 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 ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Targeted Species .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Accomplishments and Database Use in 2006 ............................................................................................. 2 Major Activities and Benefits - 2006 .......................................................................................................... 3 Program Organization and Management ..................................................................................................... 4 Tagging Equipment...................................................................................................................................... 4 2006 Tagging and Recapture Results .......................................................................................................... 5 Top Tagger and Recapture Awards .............................................................................................................. 4 Brief Highlights by Species ......................................................................................................................... 5 Black Drum ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Black Sea Bass ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Cobia ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Flounder .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Gray Triggerfish ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Red Drum ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Sheepshead ................................................................................................................................ 12 Spadefish ................................................................................................................................... 13 Speckled Trout ........................................................................................................................... 13 Tautog ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Tables 1-6 Figures 1 - 18 Appendices A and B Tables Table 1. Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Tagging Awards 2004-2006 Table 2a. Anglers Awarded Conservation Certificates for Tagging 25 or More Fish During 2006 Table 2b. Anglers Awarded Conservation Certificates for Tagging 25 or More Fish During 2006 Table 3a. Anglers Having 5 or More Fish Recaptured During 2006 Table 3b. Anglers Having 6 or More Fish Recaptured During 2006 Table 4. Tagged-recaptured Fish and Overall Recapture Rates by Species by Year (2004-2006) Table 5. Sub-adult Red Drum Episodic Movement (mostly 1 - 12 miles per day) from Chesapeake Bay and Rudee Inlet to North Carolina Waters (Late Summer - Early Fall 2006). Table 6. Late Summer-Fall Movement (mostly 1 - 8 miles per day) of Speckled Trout from the Virginia Bay and Rudee Inlet to North Carolina Waters. Figures Figure 1. Tagging gun and T-Bar tags and stainless steel dart tag and applicator Figure 2. Number of Tagged Fish 1999-2006 Figure 3. Cumulative Tagged Fish Recapture Rates (%) 1999-2006 Figure 4. Cumulative Tagged Fish Recapture Rates (%) (1999-2006) Figure 5a. Distribution of Tagging Effort 2004-2006 Figure 5b. Total Fish Tagged by Year 2004-2006 Figure 6. Cobia Recaptures: Chesapeake Bay Site Fidelity and Coastal Movement; Examples primarily 1999-2006; Records Listed in Order of Recapture Year. Figure 7. Summer Flounder Site Fidelity Within Years (2001-2006) Figure 8a. Gloucester Point Fishing Pier, Flounder Single Recaptures 2006 Figure 8b. Gloucester Point Fishing Pier, Flounder Multiple Recaptures 2006 Figure 9a. Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel 2006, Single Recaptures - Flounder Figure 9b. Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel 2006, Multiple Recaptures - Flounder Figure 10. Flounder Long-Term Fidelity (Yr. to Yr.) to Virginia Fishing Areas (2002-2006) Figure 11. Coastal Movement of flounder Tagged in Virginia 2002-2006 Figure 12. Tagged Red Drum Size Distribution 2006 (n=4057) Figure 13. Sub-Adult Red Drum Retention in Power Plant Areas Sept. - Dec. 2006 Figure 14. Sub-Adult Red Drum Movement from VA Power Plant Areas (Recaptures 2004-2006). Figure 15. Typical Late Summer-Fall Movement of Sub-adult Red Drum from the Bay and Rudee Inlet (2005-2006). Figure 16a. Red Drum Episodic Movement from Rudee Inlet to NC (fish tagged in Rudee Sept-Oct 2006 (28 recaptures). Figure 16b. Marked Decline of Red Drum Movement from Rudee Inlet to NC Waters in November 2006 (fish tagged Nov. 1-16 in Rudee; 25 recaptures) Figure 17. Adult Red Drum Movement NC to VA Waters; Movement VA Adult Drum, Spring - Fall. Figure 18. Long Distance Speckled Trout Movement (VA to NC 2004 - 2006). Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program 2006 Introduction 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 2006, the program’s database includes over 103,000 tagged fish records of tag-released fish and approximately over 10,300 recapture records (Table 4).. 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, and recommendations for funding. The RFAB recommendation is then voted upon by VMRC Commissioners. The project is operated cooperatively by Claude Bain, Director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (under VMRC), and Jon Lucy, Recreation Specialist, VIMS Marine Advisory Program. Significant matching funds are provided by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary. There is also additional administrative support provided by the Virginia Sea Grant Program, a federal funding source (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-NOAA) of major significance to VIMS as part of the broader Virginia Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program. Only select fish (currently 10 species) are targeted, species important to the state’s marine recreational fisheries but for which there is little or no hard data available on their seasonal movements in and out of Virginia waters, nor their preferred habitat areas while using bay, coastal or offshore waters. The program also can update and expand upon earlier tagging studies conducted in Virginia waters, i.e., the case for summer flounder. For species tagged under ongoing tagging projects, care is taken not to duplicate such work (and dilute tagging effort away from other species), i.e., striped bass are not tagged. Target species for 2002-2006 were black drum, black sea bass, cobia, flounder, gray triggerfish, red drum, sheepshead, spadefish, speckled trout (spotted seatrout), and tautog. A list of the species and their scientific names follows this section. Summer flounder replaced weakfish in 2000. This change proved valuable since unexpected habitat preferences and site fidelity patterns have been documented for 1-2 year old flounder inside Chesapeake Bay and for certain ocean inlets on the Eastern Shore. In recent years the program has maintained its team of trained angler taggers at approximately 150-180