A JUVENILE black marlin tagged by the Mooloolaba GFC vessel, Luna, off the Sunshine Coast, QLD, has been recaptured 700 nautical miles east of Hawaii in the North Pacific Ocean by a commercial longline vessel. As reported on the NSW DPI Fisheries Facebook page, the fish was tagged (as part of a triple hook-up including two black marlin and a dolphinfish!) in mid-January, 2017, and was recaptured in mid-September 2017.
The 25 kg black marlin was originally tagged off “The Hards”, off the Sunshine Coast and travelled a massive straight line distance of 4700 nautical miles (8,700 km) during its 244 days at liberty, which is 19 NM (35km) per day and marks the third longest distance travelled by a black marlin under the program! The fish was estimated to be approximately 45 kg on recapture.
Thank you to the Luna crew of Captain Wayne Douglass, Angler Steve Turner and Crewmen Nathan Douglass and Shane O’Donnell for tagging this fish and contributing to the pool of information on the movements of black marlin in the Pacific Ocean.
The record for the furthest distance travelled by a black marlin under the DPI tagging program is for another juvenile fish tagged off Cairns, QLD and recaptured off Costa Rica in the year 2000, having travelled over 7,800 NM.
More info on the NSW DPI Game Fish Tagging Program, click HERE.
