An integrated tagging model to estimate mortality rates of Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River striped bass

We developed an integrated tagging model to estimate mortality rates and run sizes of Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River striped bass (Morone saxatilis) including: 1) a multistate component for telemetered fish with a high reward external tag; 2) tag return components for fish with a low reward external or PIT tag; and 3) catch-at-age data. Total annual instantaneous mortality was 1.08 for resident (458-899 mm TL) and 0.45 for anadromous (â Ľ 900 mm TL) individuals. Annual instantaneous natural mortality was higher for resident (0.70) than anadromous (0.21) fish due to high summer mortality in Albemarle Sound. Natural mortality for residents was substantially higher than currently assumed for stock assessment. Monthly fishing mortality from multiple sectors (including catch and release) corresponded to seasonal periods of legal harvest. Run size estimates were 499-715 thousand. Results and simulation suggest increasing sample size for the multistate component increases accuracy and precision of annual estimates and low reward tags are valuable for estimating monthly fishing mortality rates among sectors. Our results suggest that integrated tagging models can produce seasonal and annual mortality estimates needed for stock assessment and management.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author