Jay Fleming Photography

Importance of Proper Catch and Release Techniques

As more anglers are starting to participate in the Shark Fishery off Delaware and Maryland beaches it is important to bring into light proper catch and release techniques that can help ensure survival of released fish. The waters in close proximity to the mouth of the Delaware Bay have one of the largest concentration of sharks in the Atlantic during the spawning season (May to July). Different species such as the Sandtiger, Sandbar, Dusky, Bull and Blacktip shark are drawn to shoals near the Atlantic’s confluence with the estuary to give live birth. These congregations of sharks and their reproductive biology make them particularly vulnerable to fishing pressure.

Currently the Sandtiger, Dusky and Sandbar (the three most common Large Coastal Sharks (LCS) of Delmarva’s inshore waters) are classified as prohibited by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Harvest of these species is strictly prohibited and anglers are instructed to immediately release these fish upon landing. Other sharks indigenous to the same waters are Bulls, Nurse, Spinner, Black-tip and Hammerheads, none of which are protected but are subject to the same pressures put on the protected species. Based on tagging data collected from 2007 to 2010, we found that approximately 80% of fish caught at Herring Point, Delaware were classified as prohibited species’. We did not specifically target these prohibited species, rather all Large Coastal Sharks were targeted for the purpose of tagging with the APEX Predator Investigation.

Hooking, fighting, landing and releasing a shark from the beach is a stressful process for the fish. Improper catch and release techniques can lead directly to mortality of increased stress of sharks. Anglers using the proper gear and landing techniques can reduce catch and release mortality, and in turn help ensure the health LCS stocks in the Atlantic.

2011

photographs taken while on assignment for Delaware Beach Life magazine covering a story on Sandtiger Sharks with Delaware State University.

Delaware State University Graduate Students measuring a female Sandtiger

Delaware State University Fisheries Professor Dewayne Fox and Matthew Breece inserting dart tag in male Sandtiger

Acoustic Tag being inserted into immature female Sandtiger

2010

Recapture information on a Sandtiger we tagged and released on June 10, 2010. The fish was caught again on July 23, 2010 less than a half mile from where it was tagged. This tag return does not unveil any mysteries of Sandtiger behavior but it proves that by using the proper gear and the proper release techniques you can ensure survival of released sharks.

96″ Sandtiger, Carcharias taurus

99″ Sandtiger Shark

80″ Sandbar Shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus

94″ Nurse Shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum

98″ Sandtiger

100″ Sandtiger

70″ Sandbar Shark

Spiny Butterfly Ray, Gymnura altavela

Clearnose Skate, Raja eglanteria

2009

This summer marks the second season tagging for the APEX Predator Investigation. We caught and released 48 sharks this season, with a greater species diversity than previous years. Scroll down for more pictures and last years report.

Jay Fleming

Barratt Cullen

Sean Kane

Harper Cullen and Payton Kulina

_JPF0949

2008

We took a break from spear-fishing this summer and started taking tagging a little more seriously after several close encounters while diving. The National Marine Fisheries Service’s APEX Predator Investigation, based out of Narraganset, Rhode Island sent us tags and instructions as part of their cooperative shark tagging program. The program uses data from tagging to asses migration patterns, abundance, mortality, and behavior of over 50 different species of sharks on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of North America.

We tagged a total of 46 fish this season, the largest Sandtiger measured 9.5 feet (114″).