Tag Recapture!! GFR9183 Greater Amberjack, Named “Jack”
The Greater Amberjack (Seriola dumerili) named “Jack” (Tag ID: GFR9183) was originally tagged & released by angler Taylor Lapnow on January 7th, 2016 while fishing with Captain Bouncer Smith and mate Abie Raymond aboard the charter boat Bouncer’s Dusky 33, out of Miami Beach, Florida. The Amberjack was measured to be 23 inches (58.42 cm) total length.
Angler Brett Heiken recaptured the Greater Amberjack 24 days later on January 30th, 2016 while fishing aboard the Back In Biz out of Haulover, Florida. During that time period, the Amberjack most likely stayed at a consistent water depth around some sort of structure (i.e. rocky reef or wrecks). The recapture was in the waters off Sunny Isles Beach, approximately 10.3 miles north from the original tag location. At the time of recapture, the Amberjack had an estimated length of 27 inches and weight of 20 pounds.
Greater Amberjack have a brownish to bluish/gray dorsal side, and a silvery white ventral side. They have a pronounced dark amber stripe running from the nose to just in front of the dorsal fin. The Greater Amberjack can be confused with other fish species (Lesser Amberjack and Almaco Jack), but is distinguished by the number of gill rakers (11-19) and a long anal fin base. Juvenile Greater Amberjack’s tend to school together, but as the fish grows older the schooling behavior decreases. Older Greater Amberjacks are primarily solitary.
The Gray FishTag Research program has been able to shatter the expectations for fish recapture rates thanks to the hard-working professional fishermen on the water day in and day out. Tags are provided free-of-charge to the collaborating professional fishermen, and the tag data is available to the public at www.livetagfeed.com
Bouncer’s Dusky 33 charter boat crew will receive some Gray FishTag gear for their tagging efforts. Tag recovery angler Brett Heiken will receive a pair of Costa Del Mar sunglasses, a Tag & Recovery Certificate, and Gray FishTag gear for reporting the tag recovery.
The tagging and research efforts is made possible by our research centers and sponsors AFTCO, AA Video, American Fishing Wire, FECOP, Mold Craft, Costa Del Mar, CR Primo Fishing Tackle, Shadow Graphics, AquaWorld, Crocodile Bay Resort, Grande Alaska Lodge, Los Sueños Resort & Marina, Marina Pez Vela, The Pisces Group and The Zancudo Lodge.
For more information, please contact the Gray FishTag Research in-house fisheries scientist Travis Moore at travis@GrayFishTag.org or 954-675-3896
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