SINCE 2014, over 6,050 mulloway have been tagged by recreational anglers in NSW,
During that same period, there have also been 735 recaptures of mulloway reported to the program. Recapture information of tagged fish gives Fisheries researchers valuable information about the movement, growth, and survivability of key species. The overall recapture rate of Mulloway sits at 12.1%, which is considered high for a traditional mark/recapture program.
Recapture rates, however, can be impacted by non-reporting of recaptures, tag shedding, fishing pressure, and fish distribution.
The largest growth seen in a recaptured mulloway was 52cm. The fish was originally tagged at 78cm and was then recaptured at 130cm after 1459 days (nearly 4 years) at liberty. The fish was originally released and then recaptured in the Hawkesbury River. Growth data from recaptures shows that there is high variability in growth rates between individual fish. Growth rates can be impacted by many different factors including (but not limited to): the sex of the fish, food availability, genetics, and other environmental conditions like water temperature.
If you are lucky enough to recapture a tagged fish, you can report it using our the recapture form which can be found here.
