Effect of Different Reward Levels on Tag Reporting Rates and Behavior of Common Snook Anglers in Southeast Florida

Abstract

Based on the high-reward tagging method, we determined that reporting rates by recreational anglers for tagged common snook Centropomus undecimalis along the Atlantic coast of Florida were approximately 60–70%. Additionally, we found that angler reporting rates were influenced by the use of high-reward tags. To estimate reporting rates, we tagged 989 common snook (range = 600–1,132 mm total length) with internal anchor tags that bore one of eight variable-reward messages (the word “Reward” with or without a specified monetary amount from US$5 to $200) during the summer closed-harvest season of 1995. Approximately equal numbers and sizes of fish were tagged in each reward group. The $200 reward was assumed to be sufficient to elicit a reporting rate of 100%. Return rates during the first year were quite variable and ranged from 13.7% for $5 tags to 25.0% for $25 tags, while the $200 tags had a return rate of 18.7%. Return rates generally increased with increasing reward amount, reaching an asymptotic value at approximately $75 in year 1 and $100 in year 2, above which return rates did not change. In subsequent years, angler behavior appeared to change, as indicated by decreases in the reporting rate of unspecified “Reward” message tags and an increase in the asymptote of the reward level–return rate relationship. This may indicate that angler reporting behavior changed due to the use of high-reward tags. The results from this experiment will facilitate the deconstruction of total mortality into fishing and natural mortality components derived from tagging programs. They also provide insight into angler behavior related to the design and use of high-reward tagging programs to elicit tag returns.