A.L.S., Yellow Loop Tag.!

CELLFISH

CELLFISH

Well-Known Angler
Hello NYA.

the other day I hooked this 33" Bluefish @ Battery Park NYC, with an American Littoral Society's "Yellow Loop Tag", leaving an obvious freshly injected bean size wound...

It brought me back 20 years ago when I hooked a schoolie bass off R.M. with a Y.L.T., coated with baby mussels, grass and a growing red infection dragging on this young fish... .. Not understanding this tagging program at the time, I removed the tag as my first excitement turned to anger and disappointment knowing the bass wouldn't live long... W.T.F.

At that time before websites, my cloudy personal contact with A.L.S. couldn't satisfy my understanding of the goal for tagging fish with a external plastic wire and placing a strain on this bass, believing the research for popular North East fish were mostly established...

Today on the A.L.S. website there is a maze of pages turning to the do good this agency does, including the taxpayer funded obsolete, outdated Yellow Loop Tag program which has been around for more than 50 years... Briefly, a 5% return rate doesn't cut it from the many thousands of tagged fish...

I will follow up next post highlighting the facts A.L.S. presents for the data collected from fisherman and their members... This data/ statistics for the most commonly tagged fish, ( Striped Bass ) is nothing so surprising and significant in my opinion, warrants this program to be valid...

BTW, is tagging a very big 33" Bluefish needed, knowing its life is nearing an end... CELLFISH...???

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Hey Cellie,

You're absolutely right about that tag - it does appear tobe recent. As someone who's been in the sportfishing industry for decades, I've seen the evolution of fish tagging practices, and I agree that these outdated methods are no longer necessary and can indeed cause harm to the fish.

I understand the good intentions behind tagging programs. Anglers and researchers who participate are genuinely trying to help protect and study fish populations. However, as our understanding of marine ecosystems has advanced, so too should our research methods.

The time has come to redirect those resources into more modern, less invasive technologies for gathering data. With my background in both recreational fishing and fisheries advocacy, I've seen firsthand how innovative approaches can yield valuable insights without compromising fish welfare.

There are now numerous alternatives available - from acoustic telemetry to environmental DNA sampling - that can provide us with crucial information about fish populations, migration patterns, and habitat use without physically tagging the fish. These methods not only protect individual fish but often provide more comprehensive and accurate data.

As anglers and conservationists, it's our responsibility to continually seek out and support the most effective and least harmful ways to study and protect our fisheries. Let's advocate for transitioning to these modern, fish-friendly research techniques that can give us the data we need while ensuring the well-being of the species we all cherish.
 
www.littoralsociety.org

Littoral Society

The American Littoral Society promotes the study and conservation of marine life and habitat, protects the coast from harm, and empowers others to do the same. Since 1961 we have empowered people to care for the coast through advocacy, conservation, and
www.littoralsociety.org

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here’s some highlights:

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at Home Page, scroll all the way down to this page… click Fish Tagging…

this allows us to visit past data and statistics…

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george said:
Hey Cellie,

You're absolutely right about that tag - it does appear tobe recent. As someone who's been in the sportfishing industry for decades, I've seen the evolution of fish tagging practices, and I agree that these outdated methods are no longer necessary and can indeed cause harm to the fish.

I understand the good intentions behind tagging programs. Anglers and researchers who participate are genuinely trying to help protect and study fish populations. However, as our understanding of marine ecosystems has advanced, so too should our research methods.

The time has come to redirect those resources into more modern, less invasive technologies for gathering data. With my background in both recreational fishing and fisheries advocacy, I've seen firsthand how innovative approaches can yield valuable insights without compromising fish welfare.

There are now numerous alternatives available - from acoustic telemetry to environmental DNA sampling - that can provide us with crucial information about fish populations, migration patterns, and habitat use without physically tagging the fish. These methods not only protect individual fish but often provide more comprehensive and accurate data.

As anglers and conservationists, it's our responsibility to continually seek out and support the most effective and least harmful ways to study and protect our fisheries. Let's advocate for transitioning to these modern, fish-friendly research techniques that can give us the data we need while ensuring the well-being of the species we all cherish.
Click to expand...


yes George, seems to see as i say again, the recapture numbers are nothing startling,, distance between, growth rate, etc…

leave tagging to the Pelagic Fishery… cellie…
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i have a return letter from ALS , regarding the tagged 33” bluefish from last month…

the blue i hooked was from pier 4, Brooklyn, lower NY Harbor, June 28, 2024..
The original tagger was from Raritan Bay NJ, a mere straight line of a few miles or so.. the original tagged date was October 26, 2023..

nothing surprising or exciting about this recapture, but raises more questions such as, did this fish winter over in NYC waters or migrate outside the region..

The insertion wound looked extremely fresh after 8 months…

perhaps my measuring is different than that of the Taggers, 30.5” to. mine 33”, not a precise survey…

something fishy here… cellfish…
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Last edited:
longcast said:
Looks like an open wound that cannot heal.
Click to expand...

the initial injection site was that of the wire, the backward motion of the wire wears down the skin enlarging the hole…

I measured snout 🐽 tip to tail tip 33” , the tagger may have measured to base of fork, 30.5… GROWTH RATE..haha…
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longcast said:
I’ve hooked a few over the years, but not in the last 10-15.
Click to expand...
Yeah LC, what amazes me is the time between tagged and captured… fairly minimal… nothing really long term…

the distance between most tagged and captured fish is nothing special, ex: cape cod to montauk ..

the growth rates are nothing remarkable either, how could it be recorded if the time between recapture is so short for most species being recorded… crazy…

that yellow tag is a definite drag on a 14” Fluke. attracts predators too.. and slime… crazy…. cell…
 
hey , the American Littoral Society is sponsoring the 50th ANNUAL FLUKE TAGGING TRIP… saturday 31…

great prizes for most fish tagged…

potatoe sack races afterwards… cell…haha..
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