TAGGED FISH

Niagara Musky Association Tagged Fish

Tagged Fish

     The Niagara Musky Association is engaged in an ongoing tagging study to understand muskellunge movements between and within the waters of Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara River. As Josh Ketry demonstrates, fish are tagged with stainless steel tags in the dorsal fin. If an angler catches a tagged fish, he should read the four digit number on the tag and report the length of the fish and location of the catch to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Occasionally, the tag will be grown over with skin. This can be scraped off, with no harm to the fish, and the tag number read.

     After several years of study, about 750 muskies have been tagged and approximately ten percent recaught. Preliminary results undicate that muskies inhabit a neighborhood and don't stray far. The inset picture shows the details of tag placement in the NMA study.