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NORTHEAST STRIPED BASS STUDY LATE ‘21 TALLY & EARLY ‘22 RETURNS Jim Hutchinson, Jr. From May 24 through December 13 of 2021, our team of dedicated Northeast Striped Bass Study taggers through the Gray FishTag Research partnership with The Fisherman Magazine deployed a total of seven MiniPAT pop-up archival transmitting tags (PAT tag, also known as a PSAT) in jumbo striped bass along the Atlantic Coast, ranging in size from 42 to 48 inches in length. According to Wildlife Computers which produces the device, PAT tags are designed to track the large-scale movements and behavior of fish and other animals which do not spend enough time at the surface to allow the use of real-time Argos satellite tags. Depth, temperature, and light-level data, among others, are collected and summarized for transmission, and archived in onboard memory. Then on a preset date set by the researchers, the tag releases from its host fish, surfaces, and uploads a summary of the archived data to Argos satellites. Throughout the second half of last year at The Fisherman, we detailed the tabulated results of five of those seven striped bass complete with tracking charts taken from data collected inside each MiniPAT device. Once coming undone from the fish via pre-programmed electronic charge – or as we’ve found in several instances in 2021, on its own - the MiniPAT will float to the surface and begin feeding the collected information to an Argos satellite for the duration of battery life which is typically around two weeks. Best case scenario of course is when we’re able to actually find one of these needles in the proverbial haystack, as researchers can download the archive dataset to retrieve all of the valuable data contained inside. In our reporting on tagging data from 2021, there were two final stripers tagged in the late fall that we’ve yet to present to readers, one being Uncle
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Fred that was caught, tagged and released aboard Chuck Many’s Tyman on November 2 off of Sandy Hook, and another fish named RFA that was tagged on December 13 off of Cape Charles, VA. As we prepare for another year of satellite tracking of coastal striped bass this month for the 2022 Northeast Striped Bass Study, I invite you sit back and enjoy the highs and lows of 21st century technological tracking efforts with America’s fish, the Atlantic striped bass. continued on page 10
