THE NSW DPI Game Fish Tagging Program has revealed a striped marlin has been recaptured twice.
The striped marlin – originally tagged and released on 20 February 2020 by Christine Kirby – was recaptured and re-tagged on 13 March 2020, south of the “Carpark”, a well known marlin location off Port Stephens.
Angler Ben Hayes who was fishing aboard well-known Sydney Game Fishing Club boat Little Audrey II, estimated the fish to be 65kg. The fish had travelled a straight line distance of 8 nautical miles from its original release location.
The fish was then recaptured again 14 days later on 27 March 2020 by a commercial longline vessel. The fish was recaptured well beyond the continental shelf, wide of Tathra NSW. Upon recapture the fish weighed in at 72.4kg.
Overall, the fish had spent only 36 days at liberty and had travelled a straight line distance of 250 nautical miles (460km), travelling from Port Stephens to Tathra. The striped marlin double recapture is a first for the tagging program.
NSW DPI says this recapture reinforces the resilience of billfish to catch and release and highlights the dynamic nature of their movements.
