The Watery Rave

Costa Del Mar Permit Tagging Research Program permit tagging instructions

             It’s difficult to know exactly how to put a tag into a fish without having done it before. With the popularity of piercings these days, you’d think most people would have a good feel for how it’s done, yet popping a spaghetti tag along a spinal column is akin to picking the largest syringe in the lot for a cortisone injection—in other words, if you’re just a little off, there’s going to be a definitive knee-jerk reaction. 

            That being said, the only way to get good at tagging permit is to send a few fish off with some extra jewelry, and the best way is to avoid the learning curve that comes with trial and error and have someone who’s done it before walk you through the process. If the fish had a vote, I’m guessing there’d be a landslide for that option as well, which is why you’ll find the video at the end of this post.

            Below is the recommended technique for tagging permit using the applicator and tags distributed through the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust Costa Del Mar Permit Tagging Research Program. Keep in mind that there’s a reason you’re pausing in the middle of your fishing trip—one that’s important enough that it’ll even get the needle-shy anglers on board involved. The information from tagging and recapture of tagged permit will provide information on movement patterns and growth rates of the species, so it’s worth taking your time and doing it right, as opposed to needlessly injecting a tag that’s going to fall out and join the sands of time on the bottom of the Atlantic or Gulf.

            Once you get a few tags under your belt, the process will become second nature. Most taggers develop their own step-by-step process, and usually write the tag number down before inserting it into the tagging stick, because in the excitement of the moment it’s common to release a tagged permit only to find that you forgot to record the tag number. That leads to examining every tag closely to determine the missing tag number, which for anyone over 40 means the kind of squinting that leads to crows feet and your friends asking if you just finished watching a Clint Eastwood marathon. Also, you have to remove the fish from the water to read the number once the tag is inserted, and when you do that, the constant opening and closing of the fish’s mouth is it’s way of saying, “water, dude, I need w-a-t-e-r.”

            There are times when you can’t keep the fish in the water. To weigh the fish, you’ll have to remove it, and some of the larger permit can be difficult to hold onto at the side of the boat, particularly if you’re the one who just fought and laded the fish and have the jelly arms and cramped, claw hand that go along with the process. If that’s the case, have the information sheet and measuring tape out, tag number written down, tag in the applicator and hand scale ready, then rip through the process. If done efficiently, the fish should be back in the water in less than a minute with a story to tell the other fish about the ugly guy in the blue hat who gave it some new shoulder jewelry.   

The BTT Costa Del Mar Permit Tagging Research Program Tagging Kit          

            When you apply to help with the permit tagging program, you’ll receive a kit that includes: tags, a tag applicator, datasheet for recording tagging, a pencil, measuring tape and tagging instructions. Weighing the fish is optional, but it can provide additional growth information, so it helps to have a hand scale on board.

            The information below is provided to help with the tagging process.

Tagging a Permit 

• It is best to have two people present when tagging permit to reduce time needed to tag and to reduce handling time. Some anglers and captains experienced in tagging are able to tag permit solo.
• Have the tag inserted into the applicator and ready to go before landing the permit.
• If possible, keep the permit in the water during the tagging process.
• Measure the fish.
• Use the tip of the tag and applicator to scrape away one or two scales. This provides easy entry of the tag.
• Push the tag applicator into the fish with a swift motion.
• Insert the tag far enough to allow the barb to become lodged in the bones (called pterygiophores) descending from the dorsal fin. Sometimes a slight “click” can be felt as the barb slides over a bone and locks behind it. Please be sure the barb on the tag is fully inserted into the bones.  A tag that is only in the meat of the fish will eventually fall out.
• Pull back on the applicator to remove it from the fish. Give the tag a slight tug.  If set correctly, you should see a small section of dorsal musculature move on the other side of the dorsal fin.
• Make sure you note the tag number!
• Record the data on the enclosed data sheet

Tagging location

 Care and Storage of the Tags

The tags should not be subjected to heat (such as prolonged direct sunlight). Keep in a location protected from prolonged sun exposure and heat.

Care of the tag stick

The tip of the applicator should be kept sharp to a V point. Store the applicator so the point is protected to prevent bending or dulling the point.

Bonefish and Tarpon Trust–How to tag a permit 

The Florida Peninsula, Southern United States–

 THE STORY:

Donations from Costa and a four-year commitment to Project Permit from Bonefish and Tarpon Trust will put 6,000 spaghetti tags in the hands of Florida’s most talented, experienced and under-financed fishing guides. It’s up to these professional fishermen to slow down the assembly line fish haul of their clientele to measure, weigh and tag permit caught in Florida waters, the theory being that through numbers the feeding habits of the local bull shark and Goliath grouper populations can be out-flanked so that enough permit survive for recapture.

 By comparing catch and recapture data, BTT, the FWC and Florida fishing guides can learn more about permit movements in Florida waters, hopefully leading to new data that will provide insight into the overall Florida permit population. Then everyone can use this data to formulate the fisheries management rules that will protect the species and improve permit populations for future generations.    

All this means the “Holy Grail” of fly fishing will always be out there, and whether you use fly, spin or plug tackle you get to fish for permit with the potential to catch one, even if your abilities considerably decrease the odds (Big Tip: Costa 580 lenses in Sunrise or Copper Mirror will help you here).

THE ADVENTURE:

The Florida Keys have always been Ground Zero for permit (at least in the United States), yet even though the economy of the entire island chain is based on tourism, much of which is fishing related, the people who depend on this fish really know very little about them. Once you leave the Keys and travel up either coast of the Florida peninsula, you’ll find less of an Island attitude and more tropical coastline than a small Central American country. And in the bordering waters…even more permit.

 From Sebastian Inlet on Florida’s East Coast to Ft. Myers on the West Coast, permit are snapping rods and breaking hearts off the wrecks, reefs and beaches, and no one has any idea where these fish come from or go when not in town. When you don’t know any of the habits of a species, it’s difficult to estimate the overall health of a population, much less who is impacting their numbers and how. 

 With little knowledge comes even less protection, which is why Florida’s indigenous (possibly) permit population has limited regulation and protection from those wanting to exploit the culinary side of a fish that’s worth way more alive than covered with tartar sauce and flipped on a bun. Yet, how do you monitor a fish population that roams from the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Keys and along the Atlantic Coast? That’s where the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust come into play.

 The brainchild of a handful of hardcore anglers wanting to protect the future of fish that have doled up an equal serving of joy, pain and humility, the board members of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust read like a Who’s Who of angling legends. But this isn’t about ego or ability, it’s about knowledge, or a general lack thereof. What started as a organization designed to collect data on tarpon and bonefish and hopefully lead to the protection of the species from commercial and recreational exploitation has morphed into one of the leading scientific data collection groups in Florida marine fisheries (and in particular those of tarpon and bonefish).

 Their willingness to take on permit, a fish not in their namesake title, yet like the bonefish and tarpon one of the most coveted species on the flats and the third member of the Flats Slam, has proven to be an invaluable link to the resources and the credibility of the effort to learn more about a fish with twice the number of nostrils (four) as eyes and a penchant for never letting the fat lady sing until literally in an angler’s grasp.

THE PLAYERS:

Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (BTT):

A unique combination of anglers, fishing guides and scientists whose core involvement are dedicated to research and dissemination of the behaviors, life cycles and overall conditions of the populations of bonefish, tarpon and permit, BTT is quickly becoming the wealth of fishery knowledge on the “Big Three” of saltwater light tackle and fly fishing. The majority of members work voluntarily to protect and preserve the fisheries you spend sleepless nights remembering and willing to do anything to experience.

 Having spent more than $1 million on research, this group of fervent fishermen have transformed a passion into a fishery—one that is supported by scientific research and a vocal army with the single goal of protecting, monitoring and promoting healthy populations of these premier gamefish. So why aren’t you a member yet?

 Florida’s Fishing Guides:

From Capt. Crusty to the Capt. Newbie every Florida fishing guide knows a single permit can make the day a success. But not every fishing guide has the knowledge to locate permit on a regular basis, and most that do target permit for their clients aren’t real keen on sharing the locations where they regularly find fish to the point that a GPS app on your cell phone will get you and your high-tech electronics an unexpected swimming lesson. Combine that with competition for business, reputation and time on the water, and you have the perfect group to strong-arm into adding some extra jewelry to the local permit population.

 Fishing guides are only as good as their last day on the water, so when you live in a world of a daily performance-based clientele you learn over time that the fish you depend on to make your day successful are more valuable alive than dead. Release a fish today, and you can catch it again in the coming weeks, and if someone 60 miles away catches it four months later, you know more about the habits of the fish that make your living than you did the year prior. And when you fish for a living, knowledge is more often the key to success than making things up.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC):

The regulating body of fisheries within the Sunshine State, the FWC is tasked with enacting and enforcing the rules and regulations within state waters. Tops on their list of jobs descriptions is protection of the resource and creating regulations that ensure the continuation of the species and future fishing opportunities.

 A hodgepodge of scientific, administrative and law enforcement bodies who have opted for public service and dedication to the resource over financial solvency, the members of the FWC are the state’s last line of defense against exploitation, whether that comes from commercial, recreational or the long list of profit-motivated sectors. There is no time for humor when you’re trying to ensure the existence of a species, and it’s even easier to promote, enact and enforce these protections when you have the scientific data to back them up.