Stingray and Skate tagging in the Gulf of Mexico

Methods

Summary

The tagging method is very straight forward. Tags made by Floy Tag Mfg. are printed with a unique identifying number and the stingray-tagging.com website. Stingrays and skates are retained from either fishing abandonment or shrimping by-catch and tagging in the medial area of the disc. Data is collected about the fishes size, the water depth, salinity and temperature at the time of tagging. If the fish is re-captured, the stingray-tagging website can be accessed via a smartphone or PC and the tag number / location uploaded. With this data, the individual stingrays can be tracked.

Challenges

The biggest challenge is getting access to large quantities of stingrays. The second challenge is getting return data. I plan to gain access to greater numbers of stingrays by networking with shrimp trawls and working directly on-board. I also plan to purchase a shallow water boat to alleviate the need to charter a vessel. With greater numbers of tagging rays, the likelihood of return data increases.

Pre Analysis Plan

As the specimen re-capture GPS points are logged back in, they can be compared to the original tagging location. I will be able to analyze the travel distances by using Google Earth mapping software and the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) modeling software. "EwE has three main components: Ecopath - a static, mass-balanced snapshot of the system; Ecosim - a time dynamic simulation module for policy exploration; and Ecospace - a spatial and temporal dynamic module primarily designed for exploring impact and placement of protected areas" (Ecopath.Org, 2015).