Bottomfish tagging

Tagging studies can be used to provide information on growth, mortality, and movement rates. Tagging of bottomfish via contract through cooperative research was done in the Main Hawaiian Islands from 2007-2015, and in Guam during 2011. An initial analysis of these data (O'Malley 2015) using data through 2013 found that opakapaka were the most commonly caught species, and nearly the only species recaptured. The study found that growth rates were similar to estimates from studies using hard parts, that opakapaka do no exhibit regular large-scale movement. Mortality rates could not be estimated for opakapaka due to low recapture rates. The current dataset includes additional tagging efforts during 2014-2015 that weren't available for the 2015 report. Tagging efforts during this time were focused more on a intensive tagging effort and therefore could provide more information for movements, mortality, and growth.

To expand tagging program to understand biological information on bottomfish including movement, mortality, and growth in the Main Hawaiian Islands and in Guam to support single-species assessment.

earlier years used within

O'Malley J. 2015. A review of the Cooperative Hawaiian Bottomfish Tagging Program of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Administrative Report H-15-05, 36 p. https://doi.org/10.7289/v59w0cf7.