March 31, 2022, Dolphinfish Research Program— Last November marked the third field expedition for the Dolphinfish Research Program to Tropic Star Lodge to determine the horizontal and vertical movements of dolphinfish in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP). This field expedition and research is funded by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.
During the most recent expedition, a total of 12 satellite tags were deployed, and the program received data from 9 so far with 2 more scheduled to report in May. Since 2018, researchers have deployed 20 satellite tags on dolphinfish ranging in size from 36″ to 56″ fork-length. When combined with TSL’s conventional tagging participation, which has amounted in the tag and release of 572 dolphinfish, of which 20 have been recaptured, a preliminary dataset is taking shape that shows both fine scale and broad movements, habitat use, and fishery dynamics in this part of ETP. Detailed updates on the progress of the research and program expansion in the ETP are available here. A special thanks goes out to the entire TSL staff as well as the captains and mates for their help in making this effort possible!