Since 1994, the Tag-A-Giant research program of Stanford University has been building the necessary knowledge to maintain bluefin tuna in captivity and sustain healthy populations of wild fish. The team has pioneered electronic tagging of marine fish species across the globe. TAG scientists have tagged nearly 1,800 northern bluefin tuna in both ocean basins, allowing us to follow the bluefins' wide-ranging journeys across the oceans. TAG has been at the forefront of developing other new technologies required to study highly migratory marine animals, including genetic analyses. Together with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, researchers operate the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC) on Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station property in Pacific Grove, CA. The TRCC is North America's only research facility for captive tunas and affords a unique opportunity to study tuna physiology and to develop techniques to improve bluefin aquaculture. After more than a decade of study, the increasing decline of bluefin tuna worldwide catalyzed the TAG team to build a foundation to ensure the future of the species.

          The Tag-A-Giant Fund was founded in 2006 by a core group of TAG scientists and supporters, a donor advised fund administered by The Ocean Foundation. TAG's founders served on its advisory committee, initiated by Mr. Richard Worley, Mr. John Hill and Mr. Mike Leech. Dr. Barbara A. Block, a professor at Stanford University, is the scientific advisor of TAG. Dr. Block has over twenty-five years of experience tracking tunas, billfish and sharks; her Stanford laboratory conducts research on captive bluefin, genetics, physiology and electronic tagging. Mr. Robert Schallert serves as our leading research scientist and is spearheading efforts to infuse new scientific knowledge acquired through TAG projects into international and domestic management and conservation of bluefin tuna.