big blue

Good read, thanks!

Gamefish27

If i was a fish i would be a redneck fish and stay away form the big city "oil rigs" and cruz in the deep blue sea. Just imagine how big the fish are where we do not fish

Kim

There is some truth to that statement. When it comes to big billfish, Loyds Ridge is the place to be when conditions are just right.

Bill Me

Really highlights the challenge of fisheries management. When you cannot get the majority of 100 US Citizens in Washington to agree on basic domestic issues, how do you get unanimous international agreement on fisheries management. One country that says its ok to take all you want has the potential to deplete an international resource.

Circle Jerk

Only 151 fish tagged in 38 years? That confirms it, tunas is good eatin!

Captain Woody Woods

Very interesting. This comes out to be a growth rate of about 21 pounds per year (after it was initially tagged). The biologists did a bunch of sampling with our tuna this past weekend and said there is very little return data on the fish that have been tagged (at least here in the gulf). The few that they have received indicated an average growth rate of about an inch a month. Using that data, that would indicate that a 189 pound fish would be roughly 5.5 years old. Obviously conflicting theories. Would love to see more information develop on the growth rate of these fish.

Xiphius

Transoceanic travelers really cool to have a return after so long...It is speculated that those dart type tag portions that have the ID#s are shed due to the muscle growth,or go unnoticed due to encrusting algae, resons for low re-capture rates. I would say a 5 yr old is approaching 80lbs, the next 100lbs comes a little slower

Captain Woody Woods

The biologists around the marina last week were estimating that our fish (see my thread which has been derailed to clusterfuck and back; 75-110 pound fish) were 2.5-3.5 years old. Again, a lot of conflicting theories on the growth rate.

fishsticker

i saw a show this week on discovery or somewhere that yellowfin can get to 200-300lbs in as little as 3 years. obviously it is region dependent based on availability of food etc..interesting story none the less

Chris V

Most fish grow the fastest in the first 3 yrs or so. After that, they can obviously grow much larger, but it takes a much longer time frame to achieve the same kind of growth.

A prime example is a Dolphin (Mahi Mahi). They can reach 40lbs in their first year. They live roughly 5 yrs or so and can attain a weight of roughly 100lbs or so. That means that close to 50% of their max weight and growth was the first year and I'm guessing around 25% or so in the 2nd. The only way to really get a true growth chart is to have more recaptures that lead to second and third releases, which will probably never happen.

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