A combined telemetry – tag return approach to estimate fishing and natural mortality rates of an estuarine fish

A joint analysis of tag return and telemetry data should improve estimates of mortality rates for exploited fishes; however, the combined approach has thus far only been tested in terrestrial systems. We tagged subadult red drum (Sciae- nops ocellatus) with conventional tags and ultrasonic transmitters over 3 years in coastal North Carolina, USA, to test the efficacy of the combined telemetry - tag return approach. There was a strong seasonal pattern to monthly fishing mortality rate (F) estimates from both conventional and telemetry tags; highest F values occurred in fall months and lowest levels occurred during winter. Although monthly F values were similar in pattern and magnitude between conventional tagging and telemetry, information on F in the combined model came primarily from conventional tags. The estimated natural mortality rate (M) in the combined model was low (estimated annual rate ± standard error: 0.04 ± 0.04) and was based pri- marily upon the telemetry approach. Using high-reward tagging, we estimated different tag reporting rates for state agency and university tagging programs. The combined telemetry - tag return approach can be an effective approach for estimat- ing F and M as long as several key assumptions of the model are met.

[1]  N. Jepsen,et al.  Behavioural interactions between prey (trout smolts) and predators (pike and pikeperch) in an impounded river , 2000 .

[2]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Multiyear tagging studies incorporating fishing effort data , 1998 .

[3]  Joseph E. Hightower,et al.  Fishing and Natural Mortality of Adult Largemouth Bass in a Tropical Reservoir , 2005 .

[4]  E. F. Vetter.  ESTIMATION OF NATURAL MORTALITY IN FISH STOCKS , 1988 .

[5]  J. Nichols,et al.  Statistical inference for capture-recapture experiments , 1992 .

[6]  Nathan M. Bacheler,et al.  Factors influencing the mortality and distribution of subadult red drum in North Carolina , 2008 .

[7]  E. Williams.  The Effects of Unaccounted Discards and Misspecified Natural Mortality on Harvest Policies Based on Estimates of Spawners per Recruit , 2002 .

[8]  Byron J. T. Morgan,et al.  Integrated recovery/recapture data analysis , 1998 .

[9]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Use of Telemetry Methods to Estimate Natural and Fishing Mortality of Striped Bass in Lake Gaston, North Carolina , 2001 .

[10]  M. Conroy,et al.  Sensitivity of band reporting-rate estimates to violations of assumptions , 1981 .

[11]  Gary C. White,et al.  Analysis of Wildlife Radio-Tracking Data , 1990 .

[12]  Richard J. Barker,et al.  JOINT MODELING OF LIVE-RECAPTURE, TAG-RESIGHT, AND TAG-RECOVERY DATA , 1997 .

[13]  Terrance J. Quinn,et al.  Quantitative Fish Dynamics , 1999 .

[14]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Design and Analysis Methods for Fish Survival Experiments Based on Release-Recapture. , 1988 .

[15]  R. Kneib,et al.  Site fidelity and movement patterns of wild subadult red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus), within a salt marsh‐dominated estuarine landscape , 2007 .

[16]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Estimation of tag reporting rates in age- structured multicomponent fisheries where one component has observers , 1999 .

[17]  O. Iribarne,et al.  How good are empirical predictions of natural mortality , 1993 .

[18]  Steven J. D. Martell,et al.  Implementing harvest rate objectives by directly monitoring exploitation rates and estimating changes in catchability , 2002 .

[19]  D. Vaughan,et al.  Age, Growth, Mortality, and Reproductive Biology of Red Drums in North Carolina Waters , 1995 .

[20]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  A Review of Tagging Methods for Estimating Fish Population Size and Components of Mortality , 2003 .

[21]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Tag Reporting Rate Estimation: 3. Use of Planted Tags in One Component of a Multiple-Component Fishery , 2003 .

[22]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Model selection and multimodel inference : a practical information-theoretic approach , 2003 .

[23]  G. Laslett,et al.  Incorporating fishery observer data into an integrated catch-at-age and multiyear tagging model for estimating mortality rates and abundance , 2007 .

[24]  M. Murphy,et al.  Analysis of harvest strategies for red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, in Bristol Bay, Alaska , 1997 .

[25]  Gary C. White,et al.  Numerical estimation of survival rates from band-recovery and biotelemetry data , 1983 .

[26]  H. Paerl,et al.  Estimating the spatial extent of bottom-water hypoxia and habitat degradation in a shallow estuary , 2002 .

[27]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Statistical Inference from Band Recovery Data: A Handbook , 1978 .

[28]  Colin A. Simpfendorfer,et al.  Estimation of mortality of juvenile blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus, within a nursery area using telemetry data , 2002 .

[29]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Integrating catch-at-age and multiyear tagging data: a combined Brownie and Petersen estimation approach in a fishery context , 2008 .

[30]  Nathan M. Bacheler,et al.  An Age-Dependent Tag Return Model for Estimating Mortality and Selectivity of an Estuarine-Dependent Fish with High Rates of Catch and Release , 2008 .

[31]  K. Pollock,et al.  Models for tagging data that allow for incomplete mixing of newly tagged animals , 1998 .

[32]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Pre- and post-season tagging models: estimation of reporting rate and fishing and natural mortality rates , 1998 .

[33]  L. M. Dickie,et al.  Biological Model of Fisheries Production Based on Physiological and Ecological Scalings of Body Size , 1989 .

[34]  Montana Chapter,et al.  THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. , 1885, Science.

[35]  Tom Polacheck,et al.  Classifying tagging experiments for commercial fisheries into three fundamental types based on design, data requirements and estimable population parameters , 2010 .

[36]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Combining Telemetry and Fisheries Tagging Models to Estimate Fishing and Natural Mortality Rates , 2004 .

[37]  Steven J. D. Martell,et al.  Fisheries Ecology and Management , 2004 .

[38]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  A capture± recapture survival analysis model for radio-tagged animals , 1995 .

[39]  K. Pollock,et al.  Estimates of Fishing and Natural Mortality for Subadult Red Drum in South Carolina Waters , 2001 .

[40]  C. Brownie,et al.  Tag Return Models Allowing for Harvest and Catch and Release: Evidence of Environmental and Management Impacts on Striped Bass Fishing and Natural Mortality Rates , 2007 .

[41]  William G. Clark,et al.  Effects of an erroneous natural mortality rate on a simple age-structured stock assessment , 1999 .

[42]  G. Seber.  The estimation of animal abundance and related parameters , 1974 .

[43]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Tag Reporting Rate Estimation: 2. Use of High-Reward Tagging and Observers in Multiple-Component Fisheries , 2002 .

[44]  Age-Structured Mark–Recapture Analysis: A Virtual-Population-Analysis-Based Model for Analyzing Age-Structured Capture–Recapture Data , 2006 .

[45]  M. R. Denson,et al.  Tag-reporting levels for red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) caught by anglers in South Carolina and Georgia estuaries , 2002 .

[46]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Estimating survival from joint analysis of resighting and radiotelemetry capture-recapture data for wild animals , 2001 .

[47]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Tag Reporting Rate Estimation: 1. An Evaluation of the High-Reward Tagging Method , 2001 .

[48]  Kenneth H. Pollock,et al.  Estimation of fishing and natural mortality when a tagging study is combined with a creel survey or port sampling , 1989 .

[49]  C. Walters,et al.  Quantitative fisheries stock assessment: Choice, dynamics and uncertainty , 2004, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

[50]  Gary C. Matlock,et al.  A Method for Directly Estimating the Tag‐Reporting Rate of Anglers , 1983 .

[51]  James E. Hines,et al.  Simultaneous use of mark-recapture and radiotelemetry to estimate survival, movement, and capture rates , 2000 .