Broome sails studied

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Matt Flynn
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Broome sails studied

Post by Matt Flynn »

PRESS RELEASE - For immediate release – 11/6/2010

From Jeff Cooper
President
Broome Fishing Club

Sailfish and Satellites


Broome’s iconic sailfish are about to be thrust into the international spotlight thanks to a new state of the art research program into the high speed and gracious predators.

With help from the Broome Fishing Club, the Kimberley Marine Tourism Association (KMTA), and Woodside, internationally renowned researcher Dr Julian Pepperell is leading a world-first satellite tagging study of sailfish ibn Broome waters.

The study seeks to answer a range of questions about the habits and movements of Broome’s most famous fish. There will be three tagging programs that will see two types of satellite tags, known as PSATs, and one type of ‘transmitter tag’, known as a SPOT tag deployed on the fish.

The PSAT tags will be able to log important environmental information such as depth, water temperature and light levels and when programmed will be able to detach themselves from the fish and begin transmitting this information to satellites for processing and analysis. Dr Julian Pepperell says “This data can be used to provide valuable information on not only the movements of sailfish, but also their use of their marine habitat during daylight and nighttime hours “

Broome Fishing Club President, Jeff Cooper, says “This information will not only provide a more comprehensive understanding of our sailfish in Broome, but could also shed light on the sailfish populations in Dampier, Onslow and even Exmouth.”

KMTA Chairperson, Chris Nisbet says “For so long we have been hypothesizing what the Sailfish do during the spring tides and at night as well as how far they travel, this research will answer some of these long debated questions.”

But it is the SPOT tags that probably generate the most amount of interest. Dr Julian Pepperell says “The SPOT tags work like a radio transmitter and are mounted to the tail of the fish rather than shoulder. When the fish are ‘tailing’ on the surface the aerial of the transmitter is able to broadcast information to a satellite which can provide real time information on the day to day location of the fish to the researchers. This information can even be put on a website for the public to see where the fish are at.”

This will be the first time that these revolutionary tags have been used on sailfish and Jeff Cooper says “This is a fantastic opportunity for Broome and will cast the international spotlight on what is a world class recreational fishery.”

Chris Nisbet says “Broome has always been well known for its sailfish fishery and we have customers from all over the world come over here to fish, but with this research we can generate more interest in our great fishery and high light Broome as a great fishing destination.”

The tags will be deployed over the next seven weeks whilst the sailfish are in close to shore and are in good abundance. Jeff Cooper says “There have been good numbers of sailfish around at the moment, and there have been some really good sized ones in amongst them too.”
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lincoln
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Post by lincoln »

When the fish are ‘tailing’ on the surface the aerial of the transmitter is able to broadcast information to a satellite which can provide real time information on the day to day location of the fish to the researchers. This information can even be put on a website for the public to see where the fish are at.”
I love it a website that shows you where the fish are what a top idea!! :grin: If only they could do that with barra hey! ha ha
luvindafish
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Post by luvindafish »

Sounds like an interesting study. A friend of ours who is a charter operator in broome is taking part in it .
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drifter
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Post by drifter »

Not wanting to be a Nay-Sayer, but if you knew where the fish were, wouldn't that increase your fishing success??. If it improved your fishing success, then wouldn't it put sails in a predicament?? All fish are under threat. I suppose the thing going for the fish is the old saying "10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish). what if that changed to 90% of the fisherman caught 90% of the fish??
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itsinmeblood
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Post by itsinmeblood »

along those lines I'd be thinking that most of the people that chase sails are pretty dedicated fishos to start with spending a lot of time and money in their pursuit of these wonderful fish...knowing where and when they are concentrated would open them up to exploitation by the weekend warriors to some degree surely, from my time in png I've seen the mayhem uneducated fishos can inflict on a face hooked sail and also the stress put on them getting wrestled out of the water for the photo opportunity
I reckon study hard read lots ask questions and just go fishing for them or use a guide if you really must catch one sooner rather than later... either way when and if it happens you'll be a bigger chance of doing the right thing or being shown what the right thing is to do
crikey i think that was my first rant
fish are skinny, the ocean is fat
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Post by luvindafish »

Yes absolutely. Very valid points. As fishos that love chasing sails we can only hope that other people that love it too get the word out to use the right gear (circle hooks etc) , be kind to the fish already under stress and dont pull them out of the water and handle them. Release them at the side of the boat ASAP after capture. Ben and i both thought that knowing where the fish are, will put them under pressure but im not sure who will be able to access that sort of data......................karen :captain:
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