Tag a Giant Foundation

North Carolina 2006

  

Daily Reports - North Carolina 2006

January 5, 2006

The tag team had their first day on the water aboard the Calcutta and Sensation with Captain John Jenkins and Captain Dale Britt. Both vessels headed to the waters straight off the Knuckle buoy in search of giant bluefin. Together with over 40 boats that were primarily searching for commercial bluefin there were few, if any, bites. Seas had a bit of a swell at first light but calmed significantly by noon. There was a nice edge with a sharp break- lots of gannets diving and plenty of ocean life. We only need the bluefins to join to get the tag team going.

January 7, 2006
After a windy weather day on Friday, the TAG team was out at sea again searching for elusive bluefin tuna. The good news is that bluefin were hooked early by some of the commercial boats as the sun was rising. Several fish were caught and some were released. The TAG fleet which today included three vessels, the Sensation, Calcutta and Leslie Ann with Captain Gary Stuve and owner Richard Worley aboard- did not connect with a bluefin. The team is poised to get on the board with a tag tomorrow. Everyone has their sea legs and the weather was spectacular.

January 8, 2006
 A rough ride out of the Morehead City Inlet did not stop the entire TAG team, three vessels with twelve scientists from heading out to fish on both sides of the Shoals. Unfortunately the bluefin are simply not here in the numbers the TAG team has been used to seeing in Carolina the past decade. However there was a good sign in that the commercial boats did hook a few and one boat had 4 fish on at one time. The fishers were going to pass one fish off to the F/V Sensation but unfortunately it pulled the hook. This vessel caught two bluefin, which we examined at the docks. They were spectacular fish, a male and female of approximately 81 and 85 inches and significant girth. This is a common size class we have been tagging at Carolina in the past years. We hope some more of the bluefin show up quickly. There is a good frontal edge developing off Cape Lookout and some bait and diving gannets. The tunas had small menhaden inside their stomachs, which were packed full of this fish. Remote sensing data indicate that there is a lot of cool water pushing down around Cape Hatteras and in toward the coast but some warmer frontal edges are forming by the confluence of the Gulf Stream and Cape Lookout. This region is generating some significant mixing and chlorophyll that should attract the menhaden and the bluefin. Hopefully things will improve.

January 10, 2006
The Tag Team got on the tagging board today with two tunas measuring about 87 inches being caught by TAG team boat Leslie Anne. Captain Gary Stuve, mates John Rafter and Doug Roberts worked together with TAG scientists to transfer two fish about 87 inches each to the Calcutta. Aboard the Calcutta CP Perry wired the fish in and both were double tagged. A pop up satellite and archival tag were placed in the fish. The archival tag can be recognized by the two green floy “spaghetti’ tags placed externally. If you see a tagged fish remember keep in mind they are worth $1000 for the return of the tags. Aboard the F/V Sensation- two transfers were successful with short fish measuring 58” and 70”. Both were archival tagged and released. The commercial boats had a good bite with at least 30 fish or more taken. The weather was spectacular, flat seas and a warm sun made the day feel like summer.

January 11, 2006
A fleet of over 82 boats went out with great anticipation for bluefin tuna fishing. Vessels of many types were present from almost every state along the entire US eastern seaboard. It is clear, if you are a commercial bluefin tuna fisher, NC is the place to be right now. The tunas however proved they have tails and were elusive once again. The air temperatures are above average and the winds from the south southwest were less than ideal for tuna fishing. Only two fish were landed and there were very few bites. The highlight of the day was the sighting of a Right Whale, a rare animal to see close to Cape Lookout shoals. The robust feeding activity of this whale in the surface waters is a good sign for future days to come. The TAG team had a small fleet of local boats ready to transfer fish including the Diamond Girl, Lady Sarah, Live Wire and a few others. The Diamond Girl had one on and called over the TAG surgery boat Calcutta, but the fish pulled the hook. The generosity of the fleet to consider transferring short fish as well as large fish was greatly appreciated.

January 12-13, 2006
The past two days have been two of the most beautiful days the TAG team has ever spent on the water in NC. The weather has been spectacular and the seas have been calm. Over 70 boats searched the waters from the east side to the west side of Cape Lookout, but anglers were disappointed with fewer than 5 bluefin landed. The fishing effort is high indicating that the bluefin are not abundant here at this time. Scientists and fishers on the Calcutta headed south and found bait and birds, a good sign of life in the ocean. Similarly, the teams aboard the Sensation and Leslie Ann headed to the Atlas Tanker, reporting some bait and dolphins. We’re not sure yet where the bluefin are, but we are forming several hypotheses one of which is they may be to the south.

On our first bluefin of TAG 2006, we deployed a “survivorship tag” along with an archival tag and pop up satellite tag (PAT) and we are pleased to report that the tag surfaced indicating the bluefin survived the surgery and tagging. This fish was caught by Captain Gary Stuve aboard the Leslie Ann and transferred to the Calcutta. The tag and release location and the pop-off location are illustrated in the map below. We are pleased once again to see large fish doing well after release. We plan on double tagging many of the bluefin this year with a Lotek 2310 archival tag and a Wildlife Computers PAT tag. In addition, we have one more survivorship experiment planned. The internally placed Lotek archival tag will remain on the fish, recording data for 5 years or more while the Wildlife Computers satellite tags will pop off the fish and transmit data 9-12 months after deployment. The TAG team expects a weather hold this weekend and will continue the search next week.

January 16, 2006
After a weekend of high winds and poor weather an enthusiastic TAG team aboard the fishing vessels, Sensation, Leslie Anne, and the Calcutta, along with the entire local fleet of vessels, went out in search of tuna. One was hooked right next to the TAG boat F/V Calcutta but unfortunately it was taken as a commercial fish. Only one other bite was reported despite a large number of boats, again suggesting that the tunas are not off Cape Lookout in any numbers.

January 17, 2006
The vessels plying the waters off Cape Lookout for bluefin tuna numbered fewer than ten today and a third were from the TAG team. Despite a dire forecast, a steady barometer suggested that the weather might hold for a good day on the water. The team went offshore with Roland Martin, a well known bass fishermen filming a TV show on bluefin tuna fishing. Despite some good weather and nice temperatures, no bluefin made so much as a cameo for the show. Dolphins, gannets and false albacore made for an interesting day, but the main star of the special, the giant bluefin, was missing. Everyone did have a nice time and enjoyed having the film crew and the Bass Fishing star on the water.

January 19, 2006
The TAG boat Sensation followed the report of a hot bite to Wrightsville Beach where a small fleet of 15 vessels landed about a dozen fish. The TAG team did not get a bite disappointing all on board. The good sign of fish brought hopes of seeing more bluefin in the coming days. Up at Morehead City, Calcutta stayed at the dock while the Leslie Ann with the TAG team aboard headed out to the waters off Cape Lookout but did not see any fish. Few bites were reported although one vessel hooked up and boated a 63 inch fish close by the team.

January 20, 2006
Today was a remarkable day at TAG. The teams followed the news of the hot bite down to Southport and combed the waters off Frying Pan Shoals. The ocean was full of life and reminded all of us what we had been missing. Huge pods of spotted dolphin, jumping pilot whales, basking sharks and a sky filled with gannets were strong reminders of why the entire commercial and recreational fleets had come this way. Despite having over 65 vessels on the water less than 12 fish were hooked. Luckily, one of them was aboard the Leslie Ann where Captain Stuve, mates John Rafter and Doug Roberts along with wireman CP Perry hauled up one of the biggest fish of TAG 2006. The fish, measuring over 95 inches, was double tagged with archival and pop-up satellite tags. The day became more eventful when the Leslie Ann hooked up for a second time. After 1.5 hours, it was revealed that in fact the bite was not a tuna but instead a 23 foot basking shark, the “largest fish” Captain Stuve had ever caught. The shark was a big surprise to everyone aboard the vessel. We carefully brought the male shark to the boat and successfully released it.

January 21, 2006
Although the weather forecast once again called for strong frontal winds, all three tag boats went out and searched the waters off North Carolina for bluefin. The teams were spread out along 100 nm of coastline. F/V Sensation led by Captain Dale Britt, Stanford scientists Kevin Weng and Sal Jorgensen aided by visiting Irish researchers from the BIM Institute, searched for bluefin off the west coast of Wrightsville Beach. Calcutta with Captain John Jenkins, mate John Nobles and wireman Charles Perry along with Barb Block, Steve Teo, Chuck Farwell and Gaelin Rosenwaks hunted for bluefin off Cape Lookout Shoals. The Leslie Ann searched near the Atlas Tanker. All three teams reported beautiful weather with a 2 to 3 foot swells but no bluefin. There were no reports of fish along the entire Carolina coast. The warm sea surface temperature anomaly and unusual air temperatures may have sent the fish to more productive waters along the Atlantic seaboard.

January 22, 2006
The Leslie Ann with Captain Stuve braved strong winds to search for bluefin tuna along Cape Lookout Shoals. On board, owner, Richard Worley and friends were attempting to catch a bluefin for TAG scientists. The team got as far as the Shad Boat buoy. Unfortunately, 30 knot winds from a strong cold front sent everyone back to the dock in time for a warm lunch of clam chowder along the Beaufort Waterfront.

January 24, 2006
The TAG team led by Sal Jorgensen, Steve Teo and Daragh Browne riding aboard the vessel Sensation, with Captain Dale Britt caught and tagged a 79 inch bluefin tuna off of Cape Fear. The fish was caught on a down rigger and fitted on board the deck of the vessel with a Wildlife Computers pop-up satellite archival tag and released. Sal Jorgensen was the successful angler and this was his first Atlantic bluefin tuna. With heavy tackle it took only 15’ to angle the fish to the boat. Off Cape Lookout Shoals bait was plentiful at the Big Ten but bluefin were still missing. Both the Calcutta and the Leslie Ann searched the waters with no luck. A strong northeast blow was expected and potentially could help to push more fish down this way.

January 27, 2006
Strong winds and high seas made fishing a challenge. Three vessels continued the quest to tag bluefin tuna. Sensation worked out of Wilmington Beach and did not find any activity. Calcutta and Leslie Anne worked the areas directly offshore of Cape Lookout and Big Ten. Leslie Anne hooked a fish and attempted to tag the fish in rough seas but the large bluefin was lost at the lip hook. Calcutta did not have a bite all day but a vessel close by did land several commercial fish.

January 28, 2006
Today 40 boats fished the waters off Cape Lookout in spectacular flat calm weather. Despite optimal conditions for bluefin only 1 bite occurred. Luckily it was on a chartered TAG boat- the Frequent Flyer, Captained by Glen Loftin. The fish took a lot of line and engineers from Lotek, Inc. the company that makes the archival tags tried to reel the big fish in. The hook pulled close to the boat and the second fish in two days was lost prior to tagging. Four vessels were on the water for tag in this the last day for TAG 2006.