23 July 2021
Swordfish tagged off Mallacoota
On 8 July 2021 Al McGlashan deployed a Satellite Tag (PSAT) into a swordfish of approximately 90 kg while fishing at the productive fishing grounds off Mallacoota, Victoria. Al and his son Cooper McGlashan had spent a few days fishing the area and had released a small sword and kept a fish of approximately 250 kg.
This was the third to their boat and they made the call to tag the fish based on the opportunity available. We understand the fish was in excellent condition when boatside, making it a great candidate for tagging. Whilst it was a NSW PSAT tag deployed in Vic waters, the fish are recognised to be from the same stock.
Tagging provides valuable data on this exciting new recreational fishery, including information on the timing and availability of swordfish in NSW, whether swordfish tend to return back to the same grounds seasonally and their suitability for catch and release. DPI is undertaking this project in collaboration with the Australian National Sportfishing Association (NSW) and NSW Game Fishing Association. The data from this project will also be used as part of a larger project being undertaken by Dr Sean Tracey, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), with similar objectives completed in Tasmania and currently underway in Victoria (both supported by funds from FRDC and a Victorian Recreational Fishing Grant).
Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) are used to track the movement of marine animals, particularly highly migratory species such as sharks, tuna and billfish. The tags are like mini computers that are externally attached to the fish and travel along with the fish whilst logging information on water depth, light levels and temperature, and gathering information on its location (geolocation). This allows us to gain a greater understanding of the behaviour of the fish, their migratory patterns and catch and release survival. The great benefit of satellite tags is that they do not have to be retrieved to collect the recorded information. After a predetermined time (twelve months) the tag decouples from the fish and ‘pops-off’, floating to the surface. The tag then transmits the data that it has stored whilst it has been underwater to orbiting satellites that pass overhead. This data is then relayed back to DPI.
Stay tuned for exciting insights from this tag!
In the meantime, head to http://www.greatswordfishrace.com.au for more info on NSW’s Great Swordfish Race!
The Great Swordfish Race is funded by the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust.
1 September 2019
Swordfish sat tag pops off west of Lord Howe Island!
Chris Cleaver and the swordfish that was tagged in April.
The first satellite tag, deployed on a swordfish off Sydney has popped off. The 30kg fish was tagged at the end of April by Chris Cleaver and Ryan Camlin (see the pic on the right) and popped off east of the Dampier Ridge at the end of July. This is an early release for the tag, however this is a common occurrence for satellite tags and has still provided us with plenty of interesting info.
The tag showed that it still had the pin intact and from the data received it looks as if the tag just pulled out the fish early. The depth data in the image below shows that the swordy carried out the normal diurnal pattern of diving deep during the day (around 400- 600m+) and rising near to the surface at night. There appears to be some change to the behaviour around the end of May, where the daytime dives don’t go as deep (150 – 300m+) before the normal dive pattern to 500m+ resumes. You can see the surface water temperatures were relatively high at around 24 degrees when the fish was first tagged off Sydney and they steadily drop off to around 19 degrees when the tag popped off west of Lord Howe Island. The fish headed south towards the south east corner of Australia before it meanders eastwards and then heads on a more northerly bearing.
Dive depth and temperature data collected from the tag.
This track has been shared with Dr Sean Tracey of IMAS, who has previously carried out research on swordfish tagged off Tasmania and is currently studying fish tagged off Victoria. Dr Tracey shared a recent track of a Victorian fish tagged by Steve Taranto in May 2019 under a similar program being run out of Victoria by Dr Tracey who goes on to say Sean’s provided the following “It’s worth noting that swordfish are notoriously difficult to generate good tracks for due to the diving behaviour that sees them spend most of their life in the dark. The tracking model relies on trying to determine dawn and dusk times from the tag to estimate latitude, and from there work out the noon time to estimate longitude. With swordfish spending much of their time in low light, this is particularly challenging. That is part of the reason that there are some jumps in the track and at times, the error balloons get bigger and may even throw up a couple of probable locations. That said “you can clearly see that the fish travelled south remaining fairly close to the shelf break before turning around somewhere adjacent to the southeast corner of Australia and heading up towards Lord Howe. This was a reasonably common northerly migration path taken by the fish that were tagged off Tasmania.”
On the second video clip you can see that the fish shares a very similar location to a swordfish tagged by Steve Taranto in May (using a tag issued by Sean). It appears to stay in the general area for a number of days before the NSW sword heads east and the VIC sword heads (slightly) west before the tag popped off.
NSW’s Great Swordfish Race is another example of your rec fishing licence fees at work!
11 May 2019
Sean Tracey’s and Julian Pepperell’s research on recreationally caught swordship
10 May
The Great Swordfish Race is underway
Chris Cleaver's nice swordfish kicked off the Great Swordfish Race in early May...perfectly healthy after a short fight, hooked with a circle hook, satellite tag deployed!
8 May 2019
The International Game Fish Association Announces “IGFA Day” in Celebration of 80th Anniversary
DANIA BEACH, FL – May 8, 2019 – In recognition of its historic 80th anniversary, The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) today announced plans for the inaugural International Game Fish Angling Day (IGFA Day) on June 7, 2019, as a way to celebrate recreational angling and galvanize the its international network of supporters around the world.
The focus of the first IGFA Day will be youth education and the IGFA’s ongoing initiative to teach 100,000 kids to fish. Through the distribution of IGFA Passports to Fishing kits, the launch of new online learning modules and the creation of strategic partnerships with organizations involved in youth education, the IGFA plans to coordinate fishing clinics for kids in at least 20 different countries on six different continents around the anniversary date of June 7, 2019.
“IGFA Day provides the perfect platform to energize, empower and galvanize the IGFA’s international network of supporters around a significant global cause,” said IGFA President Nehl Horton. “We are excited to launch this new initiative on the IGFA’s historic 80th anniversary and look forward to continuing our important work of educating the next generation of ethical, conservation-minded anglers.”
To date, IGFA has distributed 20 IGFA Passports to Fishing kits to 14 different countries, with more kits scheduled to be sent in the coming weeks leading up to IGFA Day. These kits will be used by IGFA Representatives, Fishing Clubs, Captains and other groups to execute hands-on youth fishing clinics around IGFA Day. Additionally, IGFA staff has developed online learning modules set to launch later this month that will provide the public an alternative to participating in a hands-on event. Finally, the IGFA continues to welcome like-minded institutions to participate in IGFA Day by hosting a youth fishing clinic using the tools and infrastructure they already have in place.
All parties interested in participating in IGFA Day are encouraged visit https://igfa.org/igfa-day/, or to contact IGFA’s Youth Education Manager Lisa Morse at lmorse@igfa.org.
About the IGFA
Founded in 1939, the IGFA is a nonprofit organization committed to the conservation of game fish and the promotion of responsible, ethical angling practices through science, education, rule making, record keeping and recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the field of angling. The IGFA also maintains world records in freshwater, saltwater, fly fishing and junior angler categories. The IGFA has members in more than 100 countries.
14 April 2019
Fish facts: can swordfish be safely released?
Ben Diggles writes in Fishing World magazine about swordfish survival… “A pilot study of the post-release survival and movements of broadbill caught off Tasmania has recently been completed by Dr Sean Tracey operating from the Tasmanian Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies and Dr Julian Pepperell from Pepperell Research. The results are very interesting. They found the new recreational fishery caught broadbill from February to July with highest catch rates in March and April. Angler interviews showed a release rate of only 11%, so nearly 9 out of every 10 fish caught were taken home to eat, which is significant when you consider mercury levels in large broadbill often exceed those recommended by health authorities. The average size of the fish weighed was an impressive 177 kg, ranging from 60 kg to a mighty 354 kg.