AccessNOAA - Sep 2002 - Pop Up Satellite Archival Tags Yield Treasure Trove of New Data

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Sept 09, 2002

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Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tags
Yield 'Treasure Trove' of New Data
Photos by M.K. Musyl, University of Hawaii/Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research

Integrating the latest technology into their research strategy, scientists from the National Marine Fishery Service's Honolulu Lab and the University of Hawaii Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research are tackling many questions about the ecology and management of pelagic (open ocean) fishes and sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean.

Using archival and pop-up satellite archival tags, the scientists are generating a "treasure trove" of immediately useful data. These data are key in addressing a number of critical management questions, including investigating post-hooking survivability, identifying possible spawning areas and delimiting stock boundaries. Field studies are being led by NOAA Fisheries' scientist Richard Brill and Michael Musyl and Yonat Swimmer of University of Hawaii's Pelagic Fisheries Research Program.

A Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag on tagging pole, 2 small archival tags beneath it and a pop-up satellite tag rigged for a shark harness. Also shown 2 small plastic spaghetti tags. These small plastic tags were once the mainstay of fisheries tagging programs and are still useful depending on the research application.

Officers and crew of NOAA's RV Townsend Cromwell are contributing to the success of the project, along with Tom Kazama, of NOAA Fisheries' Honolulu Laboratory, and Dan Curran, of the University of Hawaii. The concept of using electronic data recording tags in Hawaii to study pelagic fishes was initiated by R. Michael Laurs, director of NOAA Fisheries' Honolulu Laboratory and scientists Chris Boggs, of NOAA Fisheries, and John Sibert, director of the university's research program.

A blue shark captured from experimental longline fishing operations in the North Pacific by NOAA Fisheries and University of Hawaii scientists and crew of the NOAA RV Townsend Cromwell. Studies are trying to answer questions about the morbidity and mortality in post-released pelagic fish species in the Pacific Ocean.

Because of fish size and risk of serious injury to the tagging crew, satellite tags are harpooned into large swordfish rather than bringing them aboard.

Archival tags record data on internal body temperature, water temperature, the animal's swimming depth and light intensity. The light intensity record is used to calculate times of dusk, dawn and local noon from which the tag's geographic position can be estimated. Fishermen are encouraged (with $500 rewards) to return tags from which researchers download stored (i.e. archived) data. Rates of return for archival tags surgically implanted in bigeye tuna in Hawaii are the same as those for simple plastic spaghetti tags used in the same area (15%).

Oceanic white-tip shark being fitted with a Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag

In contrast, pop-up satellite archival tags do not have to be returned. After a pre-programmed period (or if the animal dies and sinks), the tag automatically jettisons and floats to the surface and transmits archived data to the Argos System of polar orbiting satellites. As a result, additional research questions can be addressed. Pop-up tags, for example, are currently being used to determine rates of mortality in blue sharks and sea turtles following release from longline fishing gear.

For more information, please contact Michael Musyl - mmusyl@honlab.nmfs.hawaii.edu.

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Date Last Updated: December 16, 2002 11:02 AM