Tagging 2008: A Report on the Northeast Regional Tagging Symposium

摘要

Tags have been used throughout much of the past century to learn about fish movements and populations. From simple metal or plastic tags to highly advanced acoustic and satellite popup tags that record detailed behavioral patterns and environmental data, researchers now have a variety of choices when it comes to the equipment used in fish tagging studies. Science is now less limited by technological options, but more by financial constraints that may require reformulating hypotheses and outside-the-box thinking to achieve scientific goals. The budget balancing act has led to innovation. Tagging programs are often discrete studies that address specific objectives (e.g., mortality, movement, growth), but with careful project design and data analysis, tagging data can be integrated with other data sources to provide unique perspectives on challenging issues. Now, research often involves multiple stakeholders over wide geographic areas; collaboration between scientists, managers and fishermen has become more common in recent years to the benefit of everyone involved.