Management Briefs: Long-Term Retention of Anchor Tags and Internal Anchor Tags by Striped Bass

Abstract

Abstract During 1984, 749 striped bass Morone saxatilis were captured, marked with both anchor (Dennison) and internal anchor tags, and released in the Hudson River. The difference in the relative retention rate between the anchor tag (42%) and the internal anchor tag (98%) was large during the first recapture year and became more pronounced during the second through sixth recapture years (2% and 98%, respectively). The longest that a fish with an anchor tag was at large was 908 d. In contrast, 21 fish with an internal anchor tag were at large for longer periods, as much as 2,127 d. These results show that when multiyear recaptures are desired for long-lived species, the internal anchor tag offers the potential for statistically higher recapture rates than does the anchor tag.