Trophic relationships revealed by dart tags found in the stomachs of large pelagic fishes in the Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Plastic dart tags are the main type of tag used in all major fish tagging projects but their potential for studying trophic relationships has never been addressed. The occurrence of dart tags in the stomach contents of large pelagic fishes and direct observations onboard tagging vessels reveal novel information on predation and cannibalism by tropical tunas in the Atlantic Ocean. The observations were all made during the Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Programme (AOTTP), which targeted bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), skipjack tuna (Katsuwomis pelamis), wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri), and little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus). During the programme (so far) 5 conventionally tagged fish have been reported in stomach contents from captures made in Brazil, São Tome and Principe, and Ivory Coast: including one yellowfin tuna and two skipjack tunas in a yellowfin tuna, one yellowfin tuna in a blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), and one yellowfin tuna in a non-identified shark. We use these observations to illustrate the potential role that dart tags could play in helping describe trophic interactions among marine pelagic fish species.