University of New England

Satellite Tagging Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

Central to any succsssful fishery management plan (FMP) is the availability of accurate, detailed and updated life history information on the species.  Several reports, including current spiny dogfish FMP, outline an extensive list of research needs that would help build a successful management plan for this species..  Two of the most inportant questions, regionally, are whether or not spiny dogfish in the Gulf of Maine should be considered part of the Northwest Atlantic stock and what areas in the Gulf of Maine represent essential fish habitats (EFH) for this species.  Satellite tags offer a powerful means to study the real time movement patterns and habitat preferences of an animal.  Data on the animal's behavior and environment are collected by the tag, summarized, and transmitted back to the researcher via the Argos satellite system.  Thus, there is no need to recapture the animal.  The use of these pop-up satellite archival tags (PAT) has provided an innovative tool for examining the movement patterns, temperature and depth preferences of many fish species, such as bluefin tuna and basking sharks.  Most recently, this technology has been used to track the movements of a great white shark from Australia to South Africa.  We are currently using this technology in the form of Xtags (microwavetelemetry.com) to answer whether or not there is a unit stock of spiny dogfish in the Gulf of Maine and to locate the areas that represent essential fish habitats for this species.

Links

Microwave Telemetry Inc.