b'PBCFF Donates Acoustic Telemetry GearThe Fishing Club and its charitable affiliate, the Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation (PBCFF), have a long history of supporting game fish research efforts.In fact, a state operated marine laboratory was once housed inside our historic facil-ity (see FWC Field Lab story, pg. 46).Our ties with the scientific community remain strong.Through the years the WPBFC/PBCFF has supported various cooperative tagging efforts for snook, Atlantic sailfish and more.The PBCFF has embarked on a new game fish research partnership with the FWCs Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) lab based in Tequesta, Florida. The PBCFF purchased acoustic telemetry receivers, transmitter tags and other related gear that has been donated to the lab to support ongoing research being conducted on important game fish species.Over $45,000 worth of gear has been donated by the Fishing Clubs foundation thus far.Our donated receivers are contributing to a collaborative coast wide data collection effort being conducted by numerous research-ers all along the Atlantic seaboard and beyond known as the FACT (Florida Atlantic Coast Telemetry) Network.The PBCFF is a FACT member.The technology of tagging and monitoring fish has become very sophisticated with the advent of acoustic telemetry.Fish are being fitted with small acoustic transmit-ters, which are surgically implanted.These fish are monitored by an array of receiv-ers that are located in rivers, estuaries and offshore waters.This acoustic array isA transmitter tag is surgically growing quickly up andimplanted into a Loxahatchee down the eastern sea- River tripletail.board of the U.S. Many government agencies and NGOs are collaborating to expand the FACT Network.Dozens of marine scientists and game fish research programs will benefit from expanding the number of acoustic receivers Tripletail Acoustic Tagging off Palm Beach County. Acoustic receivers record pings from transmitter tagged fish such as cobia, groupers, Anglers, be on the lookout and please release tagged fish tripletail, sharks, snook, sawfish and others, plus varieties The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and The University of of other marine animals like sea turtles.Data periodically Southern Mississippi Center for Fisheries Research and Development downloaded from the receivers reveal migratory patterns located at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) in Ocean Springs,MS are collaborating in the deployment of acoustically tagged Tripletail and other behaviors that benefit research.These data across the northern Gulf of Mexico. The tags have a life span of up to ultimately help resource agen-twoyearsandaresurgicallyimplantedintothefish.Theprojectwilluse cies manage marine species underwater receivers to listen for (detect and record) acoustic sustainably.We look forward transmissions from the fish that swim past as they migrate from thesummer grounds here in the northern Gulf to their winter grounds. to our continued collaboration Using the information downloaded from the receivers, we hope to with the FWRI lab.The PB-determine where our Tripletail go during the winter and learn more CFF is grateful for the support abouttheirmigrationpatterns. of Bill & Clare Bohnett and These research fish are double tagged with a yellow dart tag from the The John A. & Elizabeth F. GCRL and a second dart tag indicating it is carrying an internal acoustic Taylor Charitable Foundation tag. There is no reward for capturing one of these fish so we ask thatyou please release them but report the capture through the for their interest and support of information printed on the Labs dart tag. Your information should this initiative.include the tag number, capture date, capture location, and the fishslength.CallintheinformationtotheGCRLat(228)818-8818orreportFWRI researchers by email to tagging@usm.edu. Please return any internal acoustic tagsfrom kept fish to the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission at 2404 have placed acoustic GovernmentSt.,OceanSprings,MS39564. receivers at both our deep water (above) and shallow water Reef Dart locations.42 W estP almB eachF ishingc luB'