FROM THE PRESIDENT
Tightlines Tiddles
Summer is almost upon us so on that note I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hoping for a better 2021. Already looking forward to next years Interclub and I can say "hot off the press" that this years Interclub will be run in a totally new format. It will be a "fish from your home port, 3 boat team event". Rules & entries are out now and the most important rule is entries need to be with NSW by the 31st January (no late entries will be excepted after this date). This means if you are thinking about fishing next year's interclub we need your entry form completed so we can arrange team format and get this to NSW executive by the 31st January at the latest. This new format will be interesting to say the least but hopefully the weather gods will be kind & the Pelagics play their part. I look forward to seeing as many entries as possible and remember we are the defending champions. A big thank you to Otto's Tackle World for giving all new members to Sydney Game Fishing Club a great little welcome prize. Any new members joining SGFC between 2nd Dec 2020 and 2 Feb 2021 will be given a voucher to take to Ottos Tackle World Drummoyne to receive a FREE 335 piece rigging kit! What a great start for new members (see page 6). Once again I wish all members a safe and happy Christmas break.
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Calendar of Events SGFC December 2020 1st Club Meeting 5th - 6th Summer Pointscore 19th - 20th Summer Pointscore 29th Committee Meeting January 2021 2nd - 3rd Summer Pointscore 16th - 17th Summer Pointscore 16th - 17th Botany Bay Bill Heyward Tournament BBGFC Central Zone Weekend 26th Committee Meeting February 2021 2nd Club Meeting 6th - 7th Summer Pointscore 14th - The Garmin Bluewater Classic Central Coast GFC 20th - 21st Summer Pointscore 23rd Committee Meeting 25th - 28th 2021 NSWGFA Interclub State Championships NSWGFA + Central Zone Weekend
368800 pts 23,000 pts 18,650pts SPECIES Striped Marlin Striped Marlin Blue Marlin Blue Marlin
Ted Smout Trophy Claude Kellion Trophy TUNA TROPHIES Dolly Dyer Trophy Jack Farrell Trophy Ruth Williamson Trophy Ben Wall Trophy Jim Worsley Trophy SHARK TROPHIES Bob Hart Trophy Santiago Trophy Eric and Dawn Everett Trophy Jack and Signa Paton Trophy Piranha Trophy Bob Dyer Trophy William Southam Trophy Tom and Phil Waddell Trophy Betty Jay Trophy Ken Hanley Memorial Trophy
N/A Phil Webster N/A N/A Karen Wright Josh Summer Aaron Ayad N/A N/A N/A Daniel O'Neil N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
368800 pts 23,000 pts 18,650pts WEIGHT/ DATE 14/12/2019 14/12/2018 99.80 kg 101.40 kg
(Heaviest Marlin on 60Kg) (Last Marlin of Season Capt./Tag) (Heaviest Tuna on 6kg) (Heaviest Tuna on 8kg) (Heaviest Tuna on 10kg) (Heaviest Tuna on 15kg) (Heaviest Tuna on 24kg) (Heaviest Shark on 6Kg) (Heaviest Shark on 8Kg) (Heaviest Shark on 10Kg) (Heaviest Shark on 15Kg) (Heaviest Shark on 24Kg) (Heaviest Shark on 37Kg) (Heaviest Shark on 60Kg) (Heaviest Mako Shark) (1st Shark over 227Kg) (Heaviest White or Tiger Weighed at Sydney)
Striped Marlin Yellowfin Yellowfin Bluefin Whaler Shark
President's Trophies Colin Still Memorial Charles Stewart Trophy Warrewi Trophy Pot Hunter's Trophy TAG & RELEASE ANGLER TROPHIES – Pointscore days Domination Trophy Wyn Maree Trophy Tom Roche Trophy MARLIN AWARDS Rowan Waddy Trophy Nick Hanslow Trophy Les Winkworth Trophy Drew Crawford Trophy Double Whisky Trophy Dick Rowe Trophy Richard Winn Trophy Ken Wills Trophy Murrawolga Cup Trophy
N/A N/A Groundswell Tantrum Jerome Ayad Victoria Smith Makira Wright Nicholas Grego Hunter 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A Mia Wright Makira Wright N/A
Sydney Game Fishing Club TROPHY AWARDS 2019 - 2020
19/03/2020 56.60 kg 47.80 kg 81.50 kg 101.50 kg
President's Trophy (Heaviest Broadbill) (Novice Award) Champion Male Angler - T&R Champion Female Angler - T&R Champion Junior Angler - T&R (1st Marlin Tagged off Sydney) Boat Tag/Capturing !st. Marlin (1st. Marlin Captured off Sydney) (Heaviest Marlin on 6Kg) (Heaviest Marlin on 8Kg) (Heaviest Marlin on 10Kg) (Heaviest Marlin on 15Kg) (Heaviest Marlin on 24Kg) (Heaviest Marlin on 37Kg)
Allie Hunter Tantrum Smartbill Hoodlum Smartbill Eagle N/A Smartbill (Smartbill,Markoo, Hoodlum,Ambition, Casey) Tantrum Markoo Markoo Smartbill (Markoo,Little Audrey, Soave) Malolo
3102.90 pts 2929.00 pts 406750 pts 390350 pts 277950pts 149500 pts 274,500 pts 3,450 pts 15200 pts 13800 pts 12,500 pts 267,950 pts 20,000 pts 8,500 pts
OTHER GAME FISH TROPHIES William Southam Memorial Trophy Cecil Norton Trophy Les Hardy Trophy LADIES TROPHIES Signa Trophy Valla Trophy JUNIORS TROPHIES Nathan Trophy Newman Family Trophy BOAT AWARDS Capture Keith Whitehead Trophy * Runner-up Tennessee Trophy * Runner-up Clive Michael Trophy *Runner-up Joe Ritchie Trophy *Runner-up Louis Ardilley Trophy *Runner-up Nahtan Trophy *Runner-up
(Champion Boat Winter Pointscore) (Champion Boat Tag & Release) {all waters……entire season} (Champion Boat T&R on Pointscore Days) (Champion Boat T& R Tuna – Pointscore ) (Champion Boat T& R Marlin – Pointscore ) (Champion Boat T&R Sharks – Pointscore ) (Champion Boat T & R Winter Pointscore) Champion Ultra Light Tackle (4-10kg) Champion Light Tackle (15kg) Champion Medium Tackle (24kg) Champion Heavy Tackle (37-60kg)
Nahtan Trophy *Runner-up Tag & Release John O'Brien Trophy *Runner-up Poros Trophy *Runner-up Rick Morrow Trophy Stewart Donaldson Trophy Claude Archer Trophy Gambit Trophy Runner up Tag & Release Pointscore Days Ambition Trophy Michael Kirby Trophy Otto Volz Trophy Little Audrey Trophy
N/A Mia Wright N/A Makira Wright N/A Makira Wright Mia Wright Tantrum N/A Markoo Smartbill Tantrum Smartbill Tantrum N/A Tantrum N/A
25.90 kg 101.40 kg 101.40 kg 9,960 pts 3 pts 10 pts 12pts 25,445 pts 8,236 pts 19,966 pts 13,901.00 pts
(Heaviest Gamefish on 4Kg) (Heaviest other than Marlin or Tuna) (Heaviest Snapper) (Heaviest Marlin by lady) (Heaviest Shark by lady) (Heaviest Gamefish by junior) (Most Meritorious Capture by junior) (Champion Boat Sydney Waters) (Boat T&R Line Class Pointscore) (Champion Boat N.S.W. Waters) (Champ NSW Waters excl. Sydney Waters Pointscore days) (Highest Aggregate Marlin Points)
Spearfish Blue Marlin Blue Marlin Blue Marlin
Central Zone Provisional Standing as of 8-10-20 Current standings & all points are now online at www.centralzone.com.au register for a login then get access to all the news, also keep up to date on www.facebook/centralzonensw
Capture Results Angler Gender Date Club Boat Points Line Class Weight Species Adam Oniell Male 19th Sep 2020 Sydney GFC Casey 5356 24 236.4kg SHARK, Mako Daniel Anderson Male 19th Sep 2020 Wollongong GFC Royale 3317.76 15 115.2kg SHARK, Thresher T&R Results Angler Gender Date Club Boat Points Line Class Species Codi Qahoush Junior Male Sat 19th Sep 2020 1:05pm Botany Bay GFC The Master 2,875 15 SHARK, Blue Brody Humphries Male Sat 19th Sep 2020 3:22pm Botany Bay GFC Sniper 3,450 15 SHARK, Tiger Brody Humphries Male Sat 19th Sep 2020 4:52pm Botany Bay GFC Sniper 3,125 10 SHARK, Blue
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The Moon admired by all, written about by poets, studied by scientists and a complete quandary to fishermen. What affect does it have on our fishing ? A question asked around the world and throughout the ages. I would hazard a guess and say every skipper has his or her own opinion. The Maori’s have a system whereby they believe there are major and minor feeding periods when the moon was either directly overhead or directly under foot. This is easily worked out by adding half the time difference between moon-rise and moon-set to both the time of moon-rise and moon-set. e.g.Moon-rise 6:00 am. Moon-set 6:00 pm. The time difference is therefore 12 hours and divided by 2 equals 6 hours. By adding the 6 hours to the moon-rise we get 12:00 pm. i.e. the moon is directly overhead. By the same method adding the 6 hours to moon-set we get 12:00 am. i.e. the moon is directly under foot. I will admit that I have tried this out over the years and it worked a couple of times but not enough to say it is significant. This system was commercialized and used to create Solunar tables which also predicted major and minor feeding times by bringing tides and the sun into the equation which is strange since the tides are governed by the sun and moon. I will quote from an article written in the Marlin Magazine, February 2013 edition by Sam Mossman. ‘While attending the HIBT I was told that after reviewing 30 years of catch data, the event’s organisers planned the tournament dates to coincide with the dark-of –the-moon (new Moon) phase. Then I read an article that saying that St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands gets its hot bites over the full-moon periods each summer.’ Go figure !! So it would appear the moon may play a part in Marlin feeding but it is apparent that the location also plays a part.
The Moon and Fishing
In the Marlin magazine quoted on the previous page, the author who is a New Zealander, goes on to say that he studied the archive catch records from the New Zealand’s Bay of Islands Swordfish Club going back to 1929. Using current software he was able to correlate the moon phases to the capture dates of 11,000 Striped Marlin. I have included his table (fig.1 at the end of this report) to show the results. What is remarkable is that there is relatively little difference between captures on any of the moon phases however there are trends… i.e. A decline in the catch rate from last quarter to the new moon A decline leading up to the full moon and an increase after the full moon leading to the last quarter Best catches prior to the full moon also after the full moon to the last quarter Worst was the day after the full moon Best fishing was three days before the full moon. But putting it in perspective, on the worst phase there were 315 captures and in the best 462. So it would seem that though there are variations in captures due to the moon’s phases there is proof you can have a good bite on any of the phases. Remember the moon is only one variable. You must consider all the other variables – Altimetry, Ocean currents, temperature, water clarity, weather, bait, time of year, sea conditions, time of day, salinity, turbidity etc. This brings us to the tides which are directly related to the moon and to a lesser degree the sun. Most skippers believe there is a bite corresponding to the hour either side of both high and low tide. Something most would not be aware of is the effect of the sun’s gravitational effect on the tide. The sun’s pull is just under half of the moon’s and depending on where it is in relation to the moon either increases or decreases the overall effect of gravity causing tidal height variation. Also along with inertia and friction it causes the tidal flow to lag behind the moon’s position. To clarify you would expect that the highest tides would occur when we have a full moon but it doesn’t depending on the geography it may vary by a couple of days– just something else to put into the equation. Actually since there is little correlation between moon phase and bites the same applies to tides since they are directly related to the moon and sun..
Of all the variables the tides and moon phase seem to hold most sway. There is however another consideration dealing with the moon. That being the variation in the moon’s brightness at night through the moon’s phases allowing fish to feed more effectively at night thus reducing the daytime bite. Over the years I have caught Marlin at every stage of the tide at all times of day and month and in all sorts of weather. Marlin and all pelagics are opportunistic feeders. They are in constant motion which requires energy, energy in the form of food. Consequently to me the most important variable in catching pelagic fish is bait. The one area where I do think the moon and consequently the tides do make a difference is inshore. The mouths of estuaries and rivers where bait and nutrients are pushed out to sea starting a food chain and reefs where currents caused by tides trap the bait. Overall there doesn’t appear to be any single overriding factor determining fish feeding times. The only critical factor is the opportunity to go fishing. All the variables are ones we can use as excuses for a bad day’s fishing. Basically if you don’t go you’ll never know. Tight lines, Ivan
Thresher sharks are certainly not a common capture in Australian waters, and in fact the Sydney Game Fishing Club archives seem to record only eight fish weighed in the 68 year history of the Club. Interestingly, Tim Simpson landed a 361.5 pound (164kg) thresher on 37kg tackle while night drifting for swordfish over the canyons off Merimbula in June 1998. And a 115.2kg thresher shark was captured on 15kg tackle by David Anderson aboard “Royale” during the 2020 NSWGFA season opener, held out of Wollongong on 19 September. Apparently, a thresher shark nursery seems to exist in south-eastern Victoria, adjacent to Bass Strait, and significant specimens are recorded through to the waters off Phillip Island and Westernport Bay. The Club thanks Tim Simpson for the loan of Errol Bullen’s historical shark jaws, which will no doubt be of interest to members in the months ahead. John McIntyre. October 2020.
RECORD THRESHER SHARK JAWS RETURN TO SYDNEY AFTER 83 YEARS.
The Club is pleased to advise that the set of historical jaws from Mr Errol Bullen’s 389 pound (172.36 kg) Australian record thresher shark have been loaned to the Club by Mr Tim Simpson, well known angler and proprietor of “Blue Water Boats and Game Fishing” magazine. Tim now lives on the Queensland Gold Coast, but back in the 1970's he was a member of Sydney Game Fishing Club. The mounted jaws will be displayed together with a photograph of the shark and a description of the events and the angler who was one of the most colourful personalities fishing out of Sydney in the 1930's. The thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) was caught off Sydney by Mr Bullen from his game fishing cruiser “Atalanta” on May 15, 1937 - over 83 years ago. The tackle was 39-thread linen line spooled on Bullen’s elf-designed Atalanta reel, mounted on a heavy split-came William Southam custom rod. Assisting in the capture was Watsons Bay identity and famed skipper Billy Love, who ran the boat for Mr Bullen from its launching in 1935 until the late 1930's. Together they were an extremely successful team, winning many trophies and titles at the New South Wales Rod Fishers Society, them the largest angling club in Australia and the direct predecessor of SGFC. Bullen’s thresher shark was and remains the Australian record on 60kg class tackle, certainly one of the oldest national marks on the Game Fishing Association of Australia record chart. It eclipsed a thresher shark of 314 pounds (142.72kg) landed at Bermagui, southern NSW, by the famed American angler and author Zane Grey on February 9, 1936. At the time, Mr Grey claimed that his shark was the first of the species ever caught in Australia. Subsequent research has shown that in fact another American, Mrs Jeanette Myers, a resident of the Philippines, caught a thresher shark weighing 404 pounds (183.7kg) on January 1, 1936, from Mr Harold Christiansen’s Jervis Bay NSW based commercial vessel. Mrs Myer’s shark also remains the Australian Women’s GFAA record, claimed as the longest standing record on the national chart.
The fisherman has shared photos and a video to show just how well glow-in-the-dark Ooshies work for luring in whoppers. “Anyone have any glow-in-the-dark Ooshies they don’t want?” he wrote. “Happy to pay $1 each.” The fisherman offered to pay $1 for spare glow-in-the-dark Ooshies.Credit:Mark Pace/Facebook
Woolworths Disney+ Ooshie fans are sharing the very unexpected ways they’re using up their spare collectibles. Woolies shoppers have taken to social media in recent weeks to reveal their ingenious hacks for the popular collectibles. Watch one fisherman’s Ooshie hack above Ooshies have sold out in all Woolworths stores across Australia, except Victoria, due to huge demand. But it seems collectors are still having a lot of fun with them, turning the plastic figurines into fairy lights, car tyre valves, earrings and even chess sets. Angler Mark Pace says they’re also very good for catching fish. Angler Mark Pace said glow-in-the-dark Ooshies are great for luring in fish.Credit:Mark Pace/Facebook
Five very unexpected hacks to use up unwanted Ooshies
Bigger in Texas There once was a blind man who decided to visit Texas. When he arrived on the plane, he felt the seats and said, “Wow, these seats are big!” The person next to him answered, “Everything is big in Texas.” When he finally arrived in Texas, he decided to visit a bar. Upon arriving in the bar, he ordered a beer and got a mug placed between his hands. He exclaimed, “Wow these mugs are big!” The bartender replied, “Everything is big in Texas.” After a couple of beers, the blind man asked the bartender where the bathroom was located. The bartender replied, “Second door to the right.” The blind man headed for the bathroom, but accidentally missed the second door. Instead, he entered the third door, which lead to the swimming pool and fell into the pool by accident. Scared to death, the blind man started shouting, “Don’t flush!!! Don’t flush!!!”
Go towards the light In the back woods, the redneck’s wife went into labor in the middle of the night, and the doctor was called out to assist in the delivery. Since there was no electricity, the doctor handed the father-to-be a lantern and said, “Here, you hold this high so I can see what I’m donig.” Soon, a baby boy was brought into the world. ”Whoa there,” said the doctor. “Don’t be in a rush to put the lantern down.... I think there’s yet another one to come.” Sure enough, within minutes he had delivered a baby girl. “No, no, don’t be in a great hurry to be putting down that lantern.... It seems there’s yet another one in there!”cried the doctor. The Redneck scratched his head in bewilderment, and asked the doctor, “Do you think maybe it’s the light that’s attractin””em?”
Basic Bar Terminology “I’LL GET THIS ONE, NEXT ONE IS ON YOU.” (Happy hour is about to end.... drafts are now a dollar, but by the next round they’ll be $4.50 a pop.)
SAINTLY WHISPERS
After years of game fishing on ‘JIGSAW’ off Sydney , one species remained on the bucket list. The elusive broadbill swordfish. The thought of doing this on our 21ft trailer boat seemed unfathomable a few years ago, due to the uncertainty and dangers of fishing at night. As the daytime deep drop method started having success across the globe and some reports of Sydney, we thought we would give it a try. Preparation is always important when game fishing, when sword-fishing it is essential. We decided to go with gould squid around 45cm total length, and a few belly flaps rigged with skirts. We opted for 350lb trace and a 10/0 J hook. We also attached 2 lights, one on constantly and one flashing. Our outfit of choice was a 50 Talica with 80lb hollow-core braid with a 100m topshot. We used concrete blocks (around 750g-1kg) for the breakaway weight.
Our first daytime deep-drop swordfish recapture: Victoria to Queensland (June -13-2018)
Daytime Sydney Sword
We headed for the Southern Canyons as we figured it would be our best chance. Our first few drops proved painstaking as we could not get the weight to break off, even with 15lb line. Winding the rig with the heavy weight attached is no fun at all. I had remembered seeing another technique, which involved the weight being attached straight to the hook, via a bit of wire duct taped to the weight. We managed to get the weight off first try and now we were fishing right in the strike zone. After 35 minutes into the first drop we were wondering whether we should bring it up and move spots or give it another 10. All of a sudden the rod buckled over and the fish went on a small run. I picked up the rod and went to work. The fish started swimming to the surface immediately so I was just winding furiously, just praying it was a swordfish. My fishing buddy however, was sure it was just a shark and unknown to me he didn’t get the gaff or tracing gloves ready. The angle of the line continued to rise, as did my excitement. About 15 minutes into the fight we saw it jump no less than 60 metres from the boat. The deep purple and flailing sword left us in awe, it was truly breathtaking. After the fish jumped, it charged the boat and we could see the double in about 30 seconds. All of a sudden the swivel was at the rod tip but my buddy was trying to find the tracing gloves. Madness ensued as we thought we lost the fish for a second while locating the gloves. All ended well, as we somehow got a gaff in it. We then proceeded to scream like little girls, astonished at our catch, estimated around 35-40kg. Still one of the more unexpected catches of my life, we were really only trying to get the technique down pat. Not knowing if this was a fluke or not, we set out again about 1 month later and managed to get another one around the same size. The second one we caught was just as special because it proved it was not a fluke. Everything was much smoother the second time and we had no problems at all. Broadbill is now also my favourite fish to eat, it's unbelievable. Good luck with your swordfishing endeavours and feel free to message me if you have any questions! Tight lines, Isaac Caruana from ‘JIGSAW’ 2020
Yesterday the NSW DPI Game Fish Tagging Program got a call from a Queensland seafood wholesaler who reported a very exciting recapture … one of their longline boats, FV Calibre, had caught a tagged swordfish while fishing the Fraser Seamount off the southern Queensland coast. The fish had been released more than year earlier by NSW-based swordfish tagging champion Chris Cleaver, who tagged the swordy while deep-dropping the productive fishing grounds off Mallacoota, Victoria. Chris tagged the estimated 18kg fish on 13 May 2017 whilst fishing at 500m using a strip bait. After a few photos, he quickly released it back to the depths. The broadbill was recaptured earlier this month by FV Calibre, which was fishing the wide grounds off Fraser Island, and was processed at a weight of 26.7kg with an estimated whole weight of 36kg. The fish had spent a total of 387 days at liberty, and was caught more than 881 nautical miles (1630 km) from where it was released. Only 185 broadbill swordfish have been tagged under the program since its beginnings in 1973. This recapture is the fourth Australian broadbill swordfish to be recaptured. Considering its modest size, it's remarkable to realise that it's also the largest sword to be recaptured so far. Also, it’s the only broadbill to be recaptured outside of NSW with the previous three recaptures coming from small fish released and recaptured in NSW waters. It smashes the previous furthest distance travelled for the species and also marks the longest time at liberty. To date, Chris has been involved in the tagging of eight swordfish aboard his centre console, however, this was actually the first swordfish he'd caught himself; it was also by far the smallest caught from Chris' boat from Victorian waters. This newly emerging day time deep drop fishery is very exciting for east coast anglers and it’s great to see conservation-minded anglers helping contribute to our knowledge of the fishery by tagging these remarkable and mysterious gamefish.
VALE Adrian Richard Yates 25/03/1946 - 07/11/2020
Adrian was a much loved father, poppy and friend. Adrian was the owner of the mighty 58ft , custom built Norman Wright “EAGLE”. His passion for fishing started with good friend Ross Hunter. Ross took Adrian and his son Brenton fishing and they caught a 75kg yellowfin tuna which sparked the passion for gamefishing. Adrian decided he needed his own boat and brought a Broadbill trailer boat. Standing in their way however was sea sickness. So he upgraded to a 35ft Caribbean. After that he decided he needed to go bigger and more comfortable so he approached Precision Boats and had a 43ft Precision built. After a few years he decided he needed to go bigger again. After a lot of researching in Australia and America he designed and custom built the EAGLE with Norman Wright boats. He fished the EAGLE for a few years , his highlight being the annual NSW Interclub. Then life got in the way of fishing for him and his crew so he went off and pursued his other passions including hunting trips. Those who knew Adrian got to know his amazing strength , energy and passion for life. He was extraordinarily determined and knew exactly what he wanted. Once he set his mind on something nothing would stand in his way. He was an incredibly intelligent and proud man, who always made time to help his friends and share his knowledge. In 2019 he got a renewed passion for game fishing in the EAGLE. He took the EAGLE fishing with his son Brenton and 10 year old grandson Johnny for the day. Johnny caught his first marlin on his Poppy’s boat that day. A priceless memory for the 3 generations of Yates onboard. He got his old crew back together with a new skipper John and deckhand Elliot , he got straight to planning and preparing for the NSW Interclub and Shootout. With Adrian’s determination and attention to detail the EAGLE and crew achieved great results at Interclub. They finished with a total of 13 Marlin in 3 days , with 8 of those being on the last day , consisting of 2 double headers that day. The EAGLE was in the winning team. The Interclub results was the well deserved reward for Adrian’s determination and commitment. He came home proudly telling his friends at the RMYC about his results and achievements. Adrian was certainly one of a kind and the world was a better place with him it. He will be sorely missed.
Figure 1. Examples of five behaviours recorded from a juvenile lemon shark with a tri-axial accelerometer over a span of 30 seconds (from Brewster et al. 2018). a) Overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) showing general acceleration of the individual shark. Figure 2. Photos showing methodology of Port Jackson shark biologger recovery. A) Multi-sensor tag attached to a female Port Jackson shark, B) diver returning shark to original location C) searching one week later by boat using omni-directional then directional hydrophone to zero-in on pinging from the attached acoustic ‘pinger’, D) once the shark is found from the boat, continuing the search while diving using Underwater Diver Receiver, E) locating tagged individual to recover and remove the biologger in the water, and F) the recovered biologger.
A new frontier in remote observation of fish behaviour comes from recent advances in tagging technology. Tags are rapidly developing in sophistication and big improvements in battery and memory technology means we can now tag and track animals in ways that would have seemed impossible just 20 years ago. These modern tags can help us study fish behaviour, but they can also simultaneously sample the environment. Radio tracking has been used to monitor the movements of fish in freshwater systems for about 40 years. Satellite tags are usually used on species that regularly come close to the water surface where their location is transmitted to Argos satellites. These tags are good for studying broad-scale movements for very large fishes. This information can be used to determine environmental preferences, behavioural patterns such as seasonal migrations, or infer behavioural states such as feeding. Biologgers, also known as data loggers, are used to study fine-scale movements and with careful analysis can provide details on specific behaviours. Instead of providing weeks to years’ worth of movement data, biologgers provide a magnified view of behaviour and physiology over minutes, hours, or days. Many different devices of varying shape, memory, and battery capacity have been designed to track fish behaviour. The sensors within a biologger can be customised to include:accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, light, depth, temperature, pH, acoustic, and video cameras. One or multiple of these sensors measuring at a high sampling frequency results in millions of data points over just a few days. Accelerometer sensors, a type of biologger, have been widely used to answer a variety of questions across fish species. These sensors are the same as the ones inside of your smart phone or Fitbit and are basically like Fitbits but for fish. They result in a ‘picture’ or graph of the animal’s movements and can be classified into behaviour categories (Figure 1). Current research by the Fish Lab is working on finding out more about the activity patterns of the Port Jackson shark using biologging tags (Figure 2). These studies tag and track wild sharks to collect data and break it down into distinct behaviour signatures like resting, swimming, feeding and mating. With these behaviour signatures, a clear picture of the Port Jackson shark’s movements can be created and ultimately allow us to ‘see’ what this species is doing underwater, leading to better management of the species and its environment.
fisheries as bycatch they still maintain an ambiguity in the scientific community and straddle the line between charismatic and enigmatic sharks. Paddy’s research is trying to close some of the gaps in their biology, particularly with their movement. Understanding where fish go can be an integral part of their life history and biology. Their movements can provide critical roles in their biological communities through predation and other processes. For sawsharks, the only data scientist have on movements have been extrapolated from fisheries related data. While this data is unquestionably valuable, it does create concerns that scientist may not be seeing the full picture. To better answer these questions, Paddy carried out a pilot study using pop-up satellite telemetry on sawsharks.
How do we understand fish and shark movements? PhD Student Julianna Kadar The Fish Lab, Macquarie University – Headed by Prof Culum Brown
Pop-up satellite archival telemetry is a great tool for researchers to get a glimpse of a shark’s movements out in the open ocean. These tags record temperature, depth and provide a rough location through a process known as ‘geolocation’. As such they can provide researchers with not only the information on where they are going but also data to allow for inferences to the ‘why’ of their movements. Pop-up satellite archival telemetry is particularly well suited for sawsharks as these tags archive their data and only have to transmit the data once it has released from the shark. Paddy carried out a pilot study using pop-up satellite archival telemetry tags on three different sawsharks around Tasmania. The tags were successfully retained for up to three weeks and what they found was not expected. It appeared that all three sawsharks tagged spent a significant portion of their time up in the water column. Sawsharks are considered benthic species and to see regular forays into the water column, sometimes up to half the water column, was something his team had not expected. These vertical movements where the shark went into the water column during the night and returned to the benthos at day were observed to occur in cyclical intervals of 12- and 24-hour periods for the longest tagged individual. While they are currently uncertain as to the drivers of these movements it is possible they represent foraging events. Further investigation into the diet of these sharks would help to answer the ‘why’ to these vertical movements.
Sawshark ecology: on the cutting edge Patrick “Paddy” Burke – PhD Candidate Macquarie University - Marine Ecology Group Sawsharks are a unique group of sharks that are characterised by an elongated rostrum lined with teeth. Despite this unique appearance and regular occurrence in Australian
LFigure1: Depth profiles of three different sawsharks (A, B, C). The y-axis is depth and the x-axis is time since tagging