Well today Phil and I went to visit the Professors from www.stripertracker.org. I took a bunch of questions you asked and we added some of our own to help get a grip on what this project is all about.
First off, its about research of alot more than stripers. They tag blues, white perch,weakfish, flounder & stripers. This too is just the tip of what is going on out there. Ever visit the Cool Room on the barn? Guess were it is transmitted from, these guys at Rutgers where we visited today.
I will run down the questions we had and the answer next to them.
How many fish get tagged? They have 210 transmitters for the fish I listed and they are divided between them all for tracking.
How long do the batteries in the fish last? They are set to go off in 2 years so the tag number can be used again in stripers and 30days to 1 year in the other fish.
How do you know what fish is who? Each tag has a specific number or frequency, this is also why they are set for 2 years. To recycle the numbers
What happens to the tags after caught? This in itself will answer a few questions. First the tags are surgically implanted with antibotics and sterilized equipment is used to do so. The fish are also sedated to prevent problems. The tags are not exposed but a tag is put on the exterior to alert the fisherman there is an electronic devise inside the fish. They can and have been returned they also recieve calls to tell them the fish was caught and released from the information on the tag.
Fish can be tracked from other sites. IE: Maine has a site up and running and our fish can visit their sites and be tracked up there.
How long is the project forecasted to last? It is unknown but hopefully the increased interest will keep funding coming in.
As of now there are no corporations involved in the project.
How many if any fish have died from tagging? None they actually tracked a fish bucking tides two days after the surgery. So they feel there are no ill effects from the surgery.
Can we pick smaller fish to tag? The fish must be on the larger side due to the size of the transmitters placed inside them.
How many people are involved in the project? Well from what we saw today there are quite a few. They have a larger sized research vessel and a few smaller ones plus a ton of electronical transmitting devises that watch the sea, back waters and the bay.
How did the project come about? It was and is funded by grants for research and teaching.
Who and or would they work with other Univ. to do this project in the Delaware bay area? Yes and they have ties with the Univ. of Delaware.
Please post any questions or concerns you have. I personally think this is worth my time to pursue further to get the project in South Jersey in the future which will not happen unless the present project works. Which it looks like it is very well. The professors are fisherman just like us and are driven to help educate all on the life of fish. They do and showed us alot of research on fish they are doing already. You guys should be jealous we went and you didn't see this setup. I will be posting pictures of the tags, proceedure they use to tag the fish along with any other info he sends to me.
[ 02-24-2004, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: THECHUMSTAIN ]
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