Volume 54

Introduction to the Turks and Caicos Islands Bonefish Research Project Tagging Program


Authors
Clark, S.A.; Danylchuk, A.J.
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Other Information


Date: November, 2001


Pages: 396-400


Event: Proceedings of the Fifty Fourth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute


City: Providenciales Turks & Caicos Islands


Country: Turks and Caicos Islands

Abstract

Bonefish, Albula vulpes, are the focus of both a small-scale commercial and a recreational sport fishery in the Turks and Caicos Islands, yet there is currently no management plan in place to help conserve bonefish stocks. In 1992, Bell Sound Nature Reserve was created with bonefish noted as a species of interest, however it remains unclear as to whether this reserve is an effective management tool. The Turks and Caicos Islands Bonefish Research Project was established to provide a better understanding of bonefish on the Caicos Bank and form the basis of a management plan. The first part of the project is a tag and recapture program designed to assess the movements of bonefish. To date, 120 bonefish have been tagged. One fish tagged in Bell Sound Nature Reserve was recaptured north of the reserve. Although additional tagging and recaptures are necessazy, these results suggest that other management tools may be required to conserve local bonefish stocks.

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