NCSU Spotted Seatrout Tagging Study

Overview

North Carolina State University researchers are studying the movement and mortality of spotted seatrout in North Carolina using advanced tagging and telemetry techniques.

Our objectives are:

1) To estimate movement rates and stock boundaries of spotted seatrout in North Carolina

2) To estimate seasonal and annual rates of fishing mortality for legal-size spotted seatrout in NC estuaries

3) To estimate monthly natural mortality rates of spotted seatrout in North Carolina tributaries during November to April time periods and determine the importance of winter kill

This work began in September 2008 and will conclude in August 2012. Funding for year one came from a NC Sea Grant Fishery Resource Grant and funding for years two through four comes from the NC Marine Resources Fund, which consists of proceeds from the sale of the Coastal Recreational Fishing License.

Principal Investigators are:

Dr. Jeff Buckel, Associate Professor, Dept. of Biology, NCSU-CMAST

Dr. Joe Hightower, Professor, Dept. of Biology, NCSU; Asst. Leader of NC Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; U.S. Geological Survey

Dr. Ken Pollock, Professor, Depts. of Biology, Biomathematics, and Statistics, NCSU

Tim Ellis, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Biology, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program, NCSU-CMAST

Beth Burns, Fishery Biologist, NC Division of Marine Fisheries (retired)

Funding provided by:

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Click below to learn more about:

How to return a tagged fish

Preliminary studies on spotted seatrout tagging

Conventional tagging techniques

Telemetry tagging techniques

Press and contacts