Florida Sea Grant Extension in Collier County

Welcome to the Collier County Sea Grant Extension Blog

This blog is an opportunity for me to share with you my extension outreach efforts and useful information to make you a more informed coastal citizen. If you have any questions about what you see, feel free to contact me at fluech@ufl.edu.


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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Amberjack Tagging Study

University of Florida Researchers Need Your Help!
Researchers with the UF Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program are currently tagging amberjacks to examine the seasonal pattern and rates of movement of this fish in the Gulf of Mexico. This project is being done in collaboration with recreational guides, and recreational and commercial fishers.
To date there have been some interesting results. Although some amberjack move great distances, most tend not to move much. An interesting observation has been that amberjack caught in deeper water (greater than 150 ft), appear to have the ability to “self vent”.  They have a strong thick swim bladder that is reinforced by a strong rib cage. When rapidly brought to the surface and the swim bladder bursts, only a small hole is produced that releases gas out the gill openings and mouth (sort of like a blow out valve).   Under similar conditions, reef fish with thinner, weaker swim bladders tend to rupture like an over inflated balloon and flood the body cavity with case.  This bloating can prevent the fish from being able to swim back to the bottom.

Fish are tagged with a yellow external anchor tag.  If you catch a tagged amberjack, please take note of:

1.      Tag number (a four digit number)

2.      Date and location of capture (GPS latitude and longitude coordinate would be great)

3.      Measure the fish fork length to the nearest mm or 1/8th inch

 For information on submitting this information got to:  http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/amberjack/