In 2020, the Beyond Our Shores Foundation (BOSF), a registered 501(c)(3), is promoting a dolphinfish tagging competition in effort to collect data on dolphinfish in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Four of the core research objectives are listed on the flyer above. This competition is conducted under BOSF’s Dolphinfish Research Program, the world’s largest international mark and recapture program for dolphinfish. Anglers who would like to participate need to request a tagging kit (click here) and tag, release, and report at least 20 tag deployments using the DRP data field log provided in your kit to wess@beyondourshores.org to qualify for the awards. Awards for 2020 tagging activity will be announced and given in January 2021.  Awards for 2021 tagging activity will be announced and distributed next year. 

A Brief Look at Movements of Dolphin to the MAB

In the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), we lack quantitative information on the movement dynamics, vertical depth use, and presence/absence of dolphin.  Only 1.2% of all fish tagged for the program occurred in the MAB.  Pair of Docs, owned and operated by David “Doc” Jobes, and its team based in Cape May, NJ, are responsible for 30% of all releases in the MAB and have in fact gotten a few recaptures out of their work.  One of those fish was recaptured 56 days later only 19 kilometers from where it was released back in 2015.  That fish was recovered by Gregory Pfeifer in September after the fish was released in July.   Among the four other recaptures of fish that were released in the MAB, the maximum time at liberty was 15 days, and all fish were recaptured in relatively the same area as they were released (Wilmington Canyon).  While many anglers may have an innate feeling about how the season progresses for dolphin and how they move in the MAB, without quantitative information we cannot begin to decipher, numerically predict/forecast, or fully understand what this amazing species does (or is doing) when it is present in the MAB.  Case in point, a fish recently recaptured by Lenny Larson of Brick, NJ, highlights the presence of dolphin very close to shore off the northern coast of New Jersey.  Captain Larson reported that he caught the fish in 185’ of water at a location called “Monster Ledge.”  This is not only the closest recapture to shore for the program since 2002 but it is also the northernmost recapture in our program.  This recovery is very timely given our intention to focus more time and resources toward further describing the movements of dolphin within the MAB.  If would like a free kit please contact us at beyondourshores.org/contact.