Pelagic Fishes

Slide 1 Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans): Off the coast of Costa Rica Photo by Guy Harvey

Slide 2 White marlin (Kajikia albida): With a pop-up satellite tag off Venezuela Photo by Guy Harvey

Slide 3 White marlin (Kajikia albida): With a pop-up satellite tag off Venezuela. Photo by Guy Harvey

Slide 4 White marlin (Kajikia albida): With a pop-up satellite tag off Virginia. Photo by Ken Neill

Slide 5 Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus): Feeding on small sardines off Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Photo by John Graves

Slide 6 Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus): Off Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Photo by Guy Harvey

Slide 7 Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans): John Graves administering satellite tag off of Venezuela Photo by Bill Watts

Slide 8 Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans): With a pop-up satellite tag off Venezuela. Photo by Bill Watts

Slide 9 White marlin (Kajikia albida): Graduate student Emily Loose off Virginia. Photo by Ken Neill

Slide 10 Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans): Off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Photo by Guy Harvey

Slide 11 White marlin (Kajikia albida): Graduate student Ben Marcek catching a white marlin off Virginia. Photo by Ken Neill

Slide 12 White marlin (Kajikia albida): Graduate student Ben Marcek off Virginia. Photo by Ken Neill

Slide 13 Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus): Angler Tricia Neill holding a red drum tagged with a pop-up satellite tag in Chesapeake Bay. Photo by Ken Neill

Slide 14 Striped bass (Morone saxatilis): John Graves holding a striped bass with a pop-up satellite tag off the coast of Virginia. Photo by Ken Neill

Slide 15 Striped bass (Morone saxatilis): With a pop-up satellite tag off the coast of Virginia. Photo by Ken Neill

Slide 16 Baby Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus): Off the coast of Virginia Photo by Ken Neill

Pelagic fishes support important commercial and recreational fisheries throughout the world’s oceans. Effective management of these international resources requires solid scientific advice. For the past several years we have undertaken a variety of investigations that address specific management issues of pelagic species, and we have been proactive in providing the results of our studies to management agencies at the national and international levels. A major focus of our research has been to quantify post-release mortality for a variety of pelagic fishes caught on pelagic longline and recreational fishing gears, with a goal developing means to reduce bycatch mortality.

Current Studies

Use of organochlorine tracer analysis to determine the magnitude and temporal variation of mixing rates of juvenile eastern and western Atlantic bluefin tuna

Post-release mortality of large school and small medium Atlantic bluefin tuna caught in the U.S. recreational fishery

Movement and habitat utilization of white marlin in the western North Atlantic

Previous Studies

Post-release survival

Blue marlin
- Pelagic longline fishery
- Recreational fishery
  - Bermuda troll fishery
  - Circle hooks and J hooks with natural baits

White marlin
- Pelagic longline fishery
- Recreational fishery
  - Circle hooks and J hooks with natural baits
  - Three models of circle hooks with natural baits
- Effects of fight time and handling on post-release survival

Sailfish
- Pelagic longline fishery

Catch rates of circle hooks and J hooks in the pelagic longline fishery

U.S. Atlantic fishery
Brazilian equatorial fishery
Venezuelan live bait fishery