Twenty Years of Angler Participation in Virginia's Game Fish Tagging Program

Angler-assisted tagging of 10 species of recreationally important finfish has taken place since 1995 under the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program.  A cooperative effort between the Marine Advisory Program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), the program’s funding is from state saltwater license funds and VIMS. The program’s main objectives are to train and maintain a group of experienced anglers in effective tagging and catch and release techniques and use angler-collected data to learn more about life history patterns of selected recreationally important marine fish. Since 1995, >260,000 fishes from 10 different species were tagged and ~11% (n≥29,000) of these fishes have been recaptured.  These data provided fish movement and site-fidelity patterns of fishes captured and released in Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic coastal waters.  VGFTP data have also provided an alternative source of data for marine fisheries management.  The program has been recognized and certified by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Tagging Committee and has maintained and active corps of 200 taggers annually.