Tagging Tips
Before setting out on a day of fishing
  • Organize your tags 
  • Thread the tag in the applicator and attach it to the data card
  • Don"t forget your pencil
When you catch a fish
  • Record pertinent information immediately (specie, location, length, weight, and any comments). It’s easy to forget details later.
  • Date of trip and your name and address can be filled in later.
  • REMEMBER—fork length is the length for science and tag cards, total length is the measurement of regulation.
When you return from fishing
Save your hand--use name and address labels or an address stamp on your tag cards.
Save postage--Up to 8 cards can be mailed in an envelope for a first-class, 47-cent stamp. 
Please return the tag cards in numerical order, as soon as possible.

Here are some additional tips from a long-time tagger.
Fishy Facts
Size and duration of program:
The tagging program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015—1965 to 2015
Over 1200 taggers and tagging clubs tag about 20,000 fish per year.

Type and numbers of fish tagged:
  • Striped bass is the specie tagged most often, averaging 15,000 per year.
  • Summer flounder is second, averaging 2,500 tagged per year.
  • Bluefish is third, averaging about 1,300 tagged per year.
  • Winter flounder, black sea bass, tautog, cod, croakers, scup, and weakfish are also tagged.
*numbers based on a 10-year period.
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What tagging tells us about fish:
(Note: the term “return” refers to the recapture and reporting of a previously tagged fish)
  • The longest striped bass return was “out” 11 years, 9 months. That"s 4,291 days at sea.
  • The longest bluefish return was “out” four years to the day. It was tagged in Massachusetts and recaptured in New York.
  • The longest summer flounder return was “out” 8 years and 1 day; it was tagged at 11” and at recapture had grown to 26” (6 ½ lbs).
  • The longest winter flounder return was “out” 4 years, 8 months; Tagged in the Middle Bay off Southern Long Island, it was recaptured nearby in Great South Bay.