Louisiana Saltwater Series announces Yellowfin Tuna Tagging Program!!!

[La Saltwater Series]

LDWF KICKS OFF YELLOWFIN TUNA TAGGING PROGRAM
Department expands Louisiana Saltwater Series Fishing Tournament to include yellowfin tuna; first tournament of its kind in the Gulf of Mexico
(Aug. 3, 2011) - This fall, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries plans to launch a Yellowfin Tuna Tagging Program, an initiative unique to the Gulf of Mexico. The program promotes a culture of catch, tag and release in the recreational fishing community and contributes to the scientific data necessary to further understand the behaviors of yellowfin tuna.
Tagging tuna can provide information about their movements, migrations, stock structure, growth, population size, mortality, schooling behavior and physiology. NOAA acknowledges that the size and number of yellowfin caught are decreasing, and the downward trend has been happening since 1999. “The new tuna tagging program will provide baseline information for the population models used to assess the health of the stock of this valuable fishery,” said LDWF Assistant Secretary Randy Pausina. “It will also help clarify the evidence that yellowfin migratory patterns have been altered by the presence of offshore oil platforms.”
LDWF plans to kick off the program with a tag-and-release tournament at Venice Marina on Saturday, September 24. With the success of the 2011 redfish tournaments, the department added a Yellowfin Tuna Fall Shootout to their Louisiana Saltwater Series. By encouraging live tag and release, the series has focused attention on the conservation of our marine resources.
This is the first tournament of its kind in the Gulf of Mexico, and there is a 100 percent payout for first, second and third place finishers. Payout is determined based upon the total number of boats entered. A $5,000 prize is up for grabs to the chartered boat with the most tagged yellowfin. There is also a kill fish division, and the team with the largest tuna weighed will win an offshore tackle package valued at $3,000.
There is a $500 entry fee per boat for the tournament, with a maximum of 8 anglers total on each team.
Additional information, including rules, regulations and entry forms will soon be available at www.lasaltwaterseries.com.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or follow us on Twitter @LDWF or more information contact Ashley Wethey at awethey@wlf.la.gov (225) 765-5113

[meaux fishing]

Originally Posted by La Saltwater Series

LDWF KICKS OFF YELLOWFIN TUNA TAGGING PROGRAM
Department expands Louisiana Saltwater Series Fishing Tournament to include yellowfin tuna; first tournament of its kind in the Gulf of Mexico
(Aug. 3, 2011) - This fall, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries plans to launch a Yellowfin Tuna Tagging Program, an initiative unique to the Gulf of Mexico. The program promotes a culture of catch, tag and release in the recreational fishing community and contributes to the scientific data necessary to further understand the behaviors of yellowfin tuna.
Tagging tuna can provide information about their movements, migrations, stock structure, growth, population size, mortality, schooling behavior and physiology. NOAA acknowledges that the size and number of yellowfin caught are decreasing, and the downward trend has been happening since 1999. “The new tuna tagging program will provide baseline information for the population models used to assess the health of the stock of this valuable fishery,” said LDWF Assistant Secretary Randy Pausina. “It will also help clarify the evidence that yellowfin migratory patterns have been altered by the presence of offshore oil platforms.”
LDWF plans to kick off the program with a tag-and-release tournament at Venice Marina on Saturday, September 24. With the success of the 2011 redfish tournaments, the department added a Yellowfin Tuna Fall Shootout to their Louisiana Saltwater Series. By encouraging live tag and release, the series has focused attention on the conservation of our marine resources.
This is the first tournament of its kind in the Gulf of Mexico, and there is a 100 percent payout for first, second and third place finishers. Payout is determined based upon the total number of boats entered. A $5,000 prize is up for grabs to the chartered boat with the most tagged yellowfin. There is also a kill fish division, and the team with the largest tuna weighed will win an offshore tackle package valued at $3,000.
There is a $500 entry fee per boat for the tournament, with a maximum of 8 anglers total on each team.
Additional information, including rules, regulations and entry forms will soon be available at www.lasaltwaterseries.com.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or follow us on Twitter @LDWF or more information contact Ashley Wethey at awethey@wlf.la.gov (225) 765-5113

Sounds to me like a way for NOAA to try to shut down more fishing and tear down more oil rigs... just my .02


And how can they regulate the number of tagged fish? whats to stop somebody from forging that info?

[Hopedale Hustler]

Sorry but if I'm paying my share or working on a boat to catch em...they taste to good to put a tag in...only a gaff is going in a yft...

[calcutta37]

Originally Posted by Hopedale Hustler

Sorry but if I'm paying my share or working on a boat to catch em...they taste to good to put a tag in...only a gaff is going in a yft...

x2

[Dink]

Hmmm.....that tag will look funny sticking outta my roll.....can they make an edible tag???

[meaux fishing]

Originally Posted by Hopedale Hustler

Sorry but if I'm paying my share or working on a boat to catch em...they taste to good to put a tag in...only a gaff is going in a yft...

yep

[Hunt Fish Nap]

I'm all for tagging it in the ice chest. If I or anyone else on the boat catches a yellowfin or any other "color" tuna, its going in the ice chest. Way too good fresh to tag and release. I'm with the other posters, its another fish on the watch list to over regulate and reduce catch limits.