Warrnambool offshore anglers are helping researchers to identify the migration paths of one of the biggest fish in the sea.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jan Oosthuizen, captain of fishing boat Meercat, personally tagged the second highest number of southern bluefin tuna in Australia in the 2017/18 season (88), and collectively anglers on his boat tagged 149 tuna.
"I would love for somebody else to catch a fish I had caught to see what the growth of the fish is and where it went to," Mr Oosthuizen said.
"It's quite interesting to see what happened to that fish once it is released."
The catch and release program, coordinated by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industry, helps to keep fish stock levels high and provide data into growth rates of the fish, Mr Oosthuizen said.
"People don't really need all of the fish that they catch," he said. "You can have a good day on the fish, only keep what you need and tag the rest."
Warrnambool Offshore and Light Game Fishing Club tagging coordinator Ashley Dance said the number of fish that had been tagged and released had risen significantly since tagging 25 fish in the 2012/13 season.
"We tagged 303 fish in the 2017/18 season," he said. "This season we have tagged 58 fish so far."
The number of tagged fish will increase during the club's game competition on March 23 and 24, where prizes are awarded on filled out tagging data cards.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.