This image shows the overall track of a 199+lb tarpon satellite tagged in October 2014 that popped-off on schedule in December of the same year. This remains the largest tarpon ever fitted with a satellite tracking tag.
All splendid questions, of course! However, given the deep cultural importance and significant economic value of tarpon recreational fisheries throughout the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S., surprisingly little is known about their connectivity, population dynamics and sustainability. Much more is known scientifically about red snapper, shrimp, striped bass and menhaden, for example, than tarpon. This is simply due to the fact that the former species are, or have been, highly valued commercially-caught fishes.
But some monies have been flowing towards important sportfish research, largely from visionary philanthropic foundations and anglers, to truly science-based organizations like the Tarpon & Bonefish Research Center (TBRC) at the University of Miami, Florida. Such funds, coupled with intense dedication from Center scientists like Drs. Jerry Ault and Jiangang Luo, are unlocking doors of tarpon knowledge and revealing the spectacular secrets of fish migrations.
Over the past 15 years, Drs. Ault and Luo and their associates have tagged more than 285 Atlantic tarpon using advanced space-age technologies such as $6,000-per unit Pop-Up Archival Tags (PAT) and SPOT tags. The fish targeted for tagging are those that are sexually mature, because these are the tarpon that migrate. A sexually mature tarpon is typically greater than 100 pounds. Tags have been deployed from North Carolina to Angola, Africa; but, most of the tagging has been concentrated in U.S. waters, particularly the Gulf of Mexico.
Tag sensors, when deployed, record either: (for PAT) once each minute the fish’s depth, water temperature, light level and salinity is archived; or, (for SPOT) the exact position of a tagged fish whenever it surfaces. PAT tag data is transmitted at a predetermined time post-deployment. Information from the tags is relayed to an orbiting network of satellites, and provides essential and critical data to Ault and his colleagues.
In recent years, TBRC scientists have substantially advanced their understanding about migrations and travel patterns of mature tarpon. For example, we’ve shown that big tarpon frequently migrated many hundreds to thousands of miles to prime feeding and spawning sites. Tarpon tagged