The Port Orford Tagging Project

A collaborative research effort between scientists and
commercial fishermen of Port Orford

The importance of collaboration

• Assist in management of the Port Orford Marine Stewardship Area
• Promote conservation, education and stewardship of nearshore resources
• Integrate local knowledge in science
• Contribute to the understanding of the nearshore ecology of Oregon

It is vital for the health and resilience of marine resources to understand how to monitor and understand changes in fish populations and habitats at the local level so we can "scale up" to the ecosystem-level by considering the broader interactions of the ocean, fish and other animals, plants and habitat, and people. Scientists working alongside fishermen in local monitoring and research create positive outcomes for science and the system of study, including the human side. Our fish tagging study incorporates local knowledge and scientific techniques in a step towards more localized resource monitoring and management for Port Orford.

Background

The ecology of many our nearshore fishes has not been well studied. The long-term sustainability of our local stocks and fisheries depends on collaborative research to improve our understanding of fish movement and survival. In Port Orford, the live fish fishery has increased rapidly over the past decade. As a precautionary measure to ensure replenishment of stocks, fishermen have proposed a conservation effort to release gravid female rockfish. The fate of these released big old fat fecund female fish (BOFFFFs) is unknown. We have initiated a collaborative research project with local fishermen to investigate the survivorship of these BOFFFFs and estimate their contribution to the population through a cooperative tagging and recovery effort. Our tagging project will also provide essential information on movement of fish between fishing areas, including the proposed reserve area at Redfish Rocks.

Project Objectives for 2010:

1. Tag up to 1125 fish (625 for science charters, 500 for fishermen (200 longline and
300 jig))) with external floy tags that are color-coded to correspond to capture location
(see attached map).

a. Secure two renewal permits in cooperation with ODFW (science permit,
fisherman’s discard permit) to tag and release fish

i. All project participants have attended a tagging and data collection
training workshop.

b. Record species, location, length, sex, and maturational status for all fish caught

2. Record tag returns and analyze data

a. Record data from each permit separately for analysis

b. Map tag recoveries and determine displacement/days at large

c. Analyze data from tagging days: length distributions, species composition,
proportion of gravid females by species, date and location

3. Determine level of awareness of tagging project within Port Orford

a. Administer a survey to project participants and fleet members in Port Orford to record perceptions of the project and collaborative research

i. Test satisfaction of communication between cooperators and student on
status of permits, the project, and future work through the Ocean
Resource Team website (http://oceanresourceteam.org/), telephone, and
personal communication.

ii. Survey participants and develop recommendations for future research and monitoring.

4. Identify short-term responses of gravid female rockfish to capture stress and
barotrauma

a. Video a subset of tagged and released rockfish, comparing gravid females with
males and non-gravid females, using a cage system to return them to depth.

b. Sacrifice up to 20 gravid female rockfish to examine internal effects of
barotrauma and venting, particularly on the reproductive system. Note that this
objective was not achieved in 2009 due to a permit delay and poor weather
conditions during the spawning season.

Local science and monitoring is the future of successful and sustainable resource management. We welcome your thoughts and ideas for how to improve local science projects and monitoring.

To look at current recoveries, click here

To print a tag recovery form, click here

Principal Investigators

Cooperators

Graduate Research Assistant