This just in from Dave Harter over at Hilton Head…
Fishermen,
I received an email from a Florida fisherman that he had recovered one of our Hilton Head Reef Foundation cobia tags while fishing on April 6th. While recovering one of our tags is not rare, he was fishing in Sandestin Beach Florida, on the panhandle. This cobia was originally tagged by Don Hammond and me while fishing at the Betsy Ross Reef June 23rd 2009 on the ?Black & Blue?. The cobia was 31 inches and about 12 pounds when tagged, traveled about 1100 miles and grew to 56 pounds and 54 inches over 4.8 years. Attached is a map. The weight indicates it was likely a female.
She was about 2 years old when tagged making her about 7 when caught.
Don and I took a fin clip, so hopefully SCDNR will have more info later on her DNA.
Where can you get more info on any sort Cobia tagging program. I think if local anglers could be more involved in a tagging program that more of these fish could be released. Tagging programs like these for our migratory fish such as our Cobia and tarpon ect… provide such needed information for us to better manage this resource. I know that with the great eating qualities of cobia it is a fish that is not often released. With out sounding “preachy” I worry about the Cobia as a resource in south Carolina and all its swam waters. Good on you Dave!! Very cool info I hope we can somehow utilize tagging to get a better understanding of the movement of these fish and how exactly they utilize our Lowcountry waters.
Those are simply plot points to show the most direct route…the fish likely traveled much further and more erratically. This was not a satellite tag as far as I understand. I’ll ask Don Hammond if he has any more data.
Those points could only be WAGs, there are a lot of places between Key Largo and the Tortugas where they could take a shortcut. At the plot almost due west of Tampa Bay we caught a real nice one last year though. I wonder if it came from here? Some probably go the long way, some probably go the other. Cobia seem to be caught almost everywhere in the SE and gulf coasts. Both close and far from shore.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Those points could only be WAGs, there are a lot of places between Key Largo and the Tortugas where they could take a shortcut. At the plot almost due west of Tampa Bay we caught a real nice one last year though. I wonder if it came from here? Some probably go the long way, some probably go the other. Cobia seem to be caught almost everywhere in the SE and gulf coasts. Both close and far from shore.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Not a WAG, but a SWAG. There was some sophisticated thought put into that map.
After 5 years no telling how many times that fish back tracked or headed out deeper.
