By Kelly Reid, Marketing Intern
The International Billfish Tournament, which runs from September 4 to 11 next year in Puerto Rico, will be going through an exciting change for the 2012 season. For the first time ever, the tournament will be adding a research component to the official rules in order to work towards marlin conservation. Marlins, though immense and powerful, are declining in some regions in serious numbers. All marlin lovers, whether they are anglers or researchers, are invited to participate in this unique effort. In the days prior to the tournament, the angling teams will be sponsoring a researcher’s satellite tags that will be placed on each game fish as it is caught. When the fish are released, important information about their migratory patterns will be relayed back to the research teams. 120 days after the fish has been caught, the tag is programmed to release itself from the fish and its location is precisely calibrated by ARGOS satellite technology. Interestingly, the tag that is taken the farthest from its initial location by the marlin wins that heat.
The effort is part of a larger event called the Great Marlin Race, which will last for twelve months and see tags placed on more than 50 species of billfish in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic. Whichever marlin travels the farthest in the twelve month span will be officially recognized at the year-end celebration. According to Jason Schratweiser, who is the director of the Game Fish Association, the aim of the program is to learn about how these amazing fish migrate and “how they utilize the open ocean habitat.” The research data will then be analyzed at Stanford University to understand where the fish are spending their time, the channels through which they migrate, and their key habitats. The partnership is impressive here between the anglers and the researchers. The scientific community learns more about these fascinating fish and the fishing community has a unique new competitive angle to add to their tournaments. We are excited that sport fishing and conservation are working together for the benefit of marine life!
Based on "Fishing tourney will begin research race for tagged marlin" in A.M. Costa Rica, 5 December 2011