Deep 7 Bottomfish Tagging

We would like to thank all of Hawaii’s bottom fishermen who have supported the PIFG Cooperative Fisheries Deep 7 bottomfish tagging project.

If you or someone else recaptures a tagged bottomfish, please call us at (808) 265-4962, send an email to pacificfisheries@gmail.com, or submit it through the online Tag Data Form.

Please have the following information available: Date of capture, tag number, species, fork length, weight (optional), location, and your phone number so we can contact you with more information about your fish.

For providing the information you will receive a recovery letter stating the days at liberty, growth, and travel information, along with a limited design bottomfish t-shirt.

The bottom fish tagging project began in June of 2007 throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago, then focused tagging efforts in the Main Hawaiian Islands from 2009 to present. The project additionally expanded to Guam and Saipan in 2010. To date, PIFG fishermen have placed 16,668 deep 7 bottomfish tags in the MHI, 304 tags in Guam and 86 tags off of Saipan.

A total of 246 tag recoveries of Deep 7 bottomfish have been reported. 243 opakapaka, 1 onaga, 1 ehu, and 1 kalekale. Tagged bottomfish have been recovered from as deep as 124 fathoms (744 feet). The second deepest tag recovered was from an ehu at 100 fathoms (600 feet deep). The recovery of fish from these depths exemplifies PIFG’s tagging and proper handling of deep-water bottomfish for barotrauma and shows that proper handling and tagging practices ensure limited post-release mortality.

Another first was the recapture of a large tagged opakapaka by Glen Pestana. This opakapaka weighed 9.8 pounds and measured 26 inches (fork length measurement). It was originally tagged by Glenn Ashimine in March 2007 off of Penguin Banks. The Opakapaka was at liberty for 2,473 days (6.8 years), grew 13.25 inches and was recaptured approximately 5 miles from where it was tagged. But, who knows where else the opakapaka may have traveled during its liberty of 6.8 years.

Through a number of 10 tagged opakapaka recoveries, the data supports findings from earlier opakapaka tagging studies that the fish migrate between islands and evidences population connectivity within the Main Hawaiian Islands. So far, 4 fish have crossed from Penguin Banks to Oʻahu, 4 have transitted between Maui, Molokaʻi, Lanai and Kahoʻolawe. Two have traveled between Maui and the Big Island (Hawaii). The single longest straight line tag opakapaka tag recovery has been from Maui to South Point on the Big Island Approximately 145 miles.

A very special mahalo to fishermen Roy Morioka for donating his recaptured tagged opakapaka for research. Dissecting this fish will help to provide valuable information on the species’ life history, such as aging and determination of when the species reaches sexual maturity.