Abstract

The results of a multi-year tagging program of red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) at two spawning aggregation sites (NE1 and SW1) in Bermuda are presented. From 1995-2004, a total of 968 red hinds were caught, tagged and released, primarily at spawning aggregation sites, and were recaptured by hook and line fishing. Fishing and tagging effort were concentrated during the summer spawning period at the two aggregation sites. During the spawning period in 1997, a total of 105 red hinds were tagged and displaced between SW1 and NE1. Subsequent recapture of displaced fish yielded rates of 4.2% (SW1) and 10% (NE1) demonstrat-ing a return straight-line migration distance of 50.7 km. The mean tag-recapture rate for the entire tagging program varied between aggregation sites (NE1 = 30.8%, SW1 = 14.0%) and the mean overall tag-recapture rate was 16.8%. The majority of recaptures occurred either in the same spawning month in which tagging took place or at approximate intervals of one, two or three years, often in the same month each year, suggesting some consistency in presence on site during the spawning period. The longest period at liberty of a tagged fish was in excess of five years. Although many of the tagged fish were recaptured more than once, the maximum number of recaptures of a given tagged fish was four.

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