Anglers Tagging and Marking Fish: Provincial and State Fishery Agency Views

In recent years, the involvement of anglers in fish tagging programs has begun to capture the interest of managers. I conducted a mail survey of provincial and state fishery agencies to discern where anglers could legally tag, mark, or attach telemetry devices to fish. In addition, I documented current provincial and state agency views toward fish tagging or marking by anglers. Anglers were allowed to tag or mark fish in most provinces and states; however, more restrictions were placed on marking and telemetering fish than on tagging. Of the issues covered in this survey, respondents indicated that fish mortality and fish injury were the most serious problems associated with fish tagging or marking by anglers; the next most serious problem was interference with agency studies. Provincial and state agencies in charge of saltwaters tended to agree that valuable data are obtained from angler-based fish tagging or marking activities and that these activities promoted positive public relations; agencies in charge of freshwaters tended to disagree with these statements