from the Billfish Foundation
We have all been hearing about the incredible fish and lakes in Magdalena Bay, Mexico, for years. It is not surprising that many of our tag and release winners use this fantastic location to win some of the leading annual awards given the double, triple, and quad hookups of striped marlin and daily releases in the triple digits. While offshore fishing may be familiar with the fishing as a whole, we currently know very little about the fishing for striped marlins in particular. As always, our aim is to save, educate, and promote green fishing in places like this so that anglers will continue to enjoy it for many generations to come. But getting to Magdalena Bay is no simple task. Even more challenging is the chance to perform fly-based medical satellite labelling research on striped marlin in those waters. TBF was given that opportunity in late 2022.
Commons / Jackiemora01 photo
The Marlin – Fly Project, an optimistic, multi-year program developed by Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, one of our tag and release partners, was launched in 2021 with the goal of locating tag striped marli within this pristine and awe-inspiring fishing. The objective was to spacecraft label striped marlin on the fly and gather previously unseen files with the assistance of the local fishing community and a fleet of pangas.
Costa’s program came to fruition in December 2022. In addition to helping build these keywords during this three-day vision, TBF’s Peter Chaibongsai and Jeremy Higgs from the University of Southern Mississippi were invited to emphasize the significance of scientific expeditions like these for fishing, local community, and fisheries control. Costa even extended an invitation to a large number of specialized fly anglers from around the globe to take part in this one-of-a-kind tagging expedition. TBF had a one-of-a-kind chance to get to know these fishermen, hear their tales, and observe them cast in the ocean wherever they pleased. It was wonderful to see so many people who were genuinely interested in and passionate about protecting our sources during our excellent discussions about conservation efforts.
Image: Nick Price
Costa collaborated with Los Locos Mag Bay, which established a remarkable local procedure in San Carlos and hired local fishermen to act as captains. TBF was grateful for the chance to speak with and learn from some of the locals about their customs and stories of those who were local to the area, even though the clinical aspect and professional collaboration were the main focus. They were extremely helpful and knowledgeable.
Image: Nick Price
The real implementation of the keywords was another intriguing aspect of this journey. Prior to this strategy, the medical community had not thought of using fly gear to deploy a satellite tag on an animal marlin as an economically viable option. There were worries about battle duration, fish strain, and post-release survivability. We talked about the significance of tagging bass again caught on the fly in less than 30 days to allay those fears. To increase each fish’s chance of surviving, we likewise thoroughly examined each one before tagging it to ensure that it was a great, healthy, and robust candidate for the tag. They do not receive a dish tag if they failed to meet these requirements.
Our implementation numbers spoke for themselves, even though there were undoubtedly some misgivings about the ability to install all the dish tags using this method( or any technique in general ) within the specified time frame. All 15 telescope tags were put into place during the first 24 hours of fishing. After using up all of those keywords, the group continued to use about 20 standard tags. The combined efforts of people involved were nothing short of amazing to see.
Following the journey, Costa made its Marlin-Fly Project public for the first time at TBF’s Tag and Release Ceremony, showcasing this amazing mission with a brief display, some fantastic stills, and tame video trailer.
