Littoral Society Joins Reel Into Fishing Program for Day of Fishing and Fluke Tagging

By Stella Mueller, Littoral Society Education Program Intern 

The American Littoral Society Fish Tagging program recently joined the Reel Into Fishing program in Avalon, NJ for an exciting day of fishing and fluke tagging! 
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The Reel Into Fishing program is a 3-day free educational program teaching students in grades 5-10 about safe fishing tactics and conserving local marine habitats. The program works in partnership with the International Gamefish Association and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean and Burlington Counties.

Our tagging program was asked to speak during the first day of the program, where we detailed our organization’s mission and the importance of tagging local species. We also joined their fishing excursion on the final day of the program, where we demonstrated to students how to tag the fish they caught. 

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This year, we successfully tagged 11 fluke that students caught on the fishing trip with the Extension Unit of Burlington County. Although we caught a lot more than 11, Fish Tagging Director Emily McGuckin prefers to only tag flukes 12 inches or larger to decrease mortality chances. Two students caught flukes that were above the legal size for keeping, which is 18 inches, so they both got fresh caught fluke to take home with them! 

Additionally, students caught more than just fluke. Some of the species caught during the trip include black sea bass, sea robins, and the occasional sand shark! All of these species were observed by students in the group and carefully placed back in the water untagged. 

The Reel Into Fishing program typically runs annually in August and is available to any student in NJ within the age range. If you’re interested in learning about this program, contact Rutgers Cooperative Extension or Emily McGuckin: [email protected]. 

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