Migrations and movements of Atlantic tarpon revealed by two decades of satellite tagging

• Published in: Fish and fisheries (Oxford, England) Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 290 - 318
• Main Authors: Luo, Jiangang, Ault, Jerald S., Ungar, Bruce T., Smith, Steven G., Larkin, Michael F., Davidson, Thomas N., Bryan, David R., Farmer, Nicholas A., Holt, Scott A., Alford, A. Scott, Adams, Aaron J., Humston, Robert, Marton, Adam S., Mangum, David, Kleppinger, Russell, Requejo, Angel, Robertson, Julian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2020
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Brackishwater environment; Coastal waters; Decision making; Developmental stages; Estuaries; Fisheries; Fisheries management; Fishery management; Freshwater; Habitat selection; Habitat utilization; Habitats; Human influences; Information management; Information systems; Inland water environment; Inlets; Inlets (topography); Inlets (waterways); Interspecific relationships; Larvae; Local movements; Management information systems; Marine fishes; Migrations; population connectivity; Population dynamics; Predation; Regional planning; Rivers; Satellites; shark predation; Sharks; Spawning; spawning habitats; sportfish; Stock assessment; Tagging; Telemetry
• ISSN: 1467-2960; 1467-2979
• DOI: 10.1111/faf.12430

Understanding large‐scale migratory behaviours, local movement patterns and population connectivity are critical to determining the natural processes and anthropogenic stressors that influence population dynamics and for developing effective conservation plans. Atlantic tarpon occur over a broad geographic range in the Atlantic Ocean where they support valuable subsistence, commercial and recreational fisheries. From 2001 through 2018, we deployed 292 satellite telemetry tags on Atlantic tarpon in coastal waters off three continents to document: (a) seasonal migrations and regional population connectivity; (b) freshwater and estuarine habitat utilization; (c) spawning locations; and (d) shark predation across the south‐eastern United States, Gulf of Mexico and northern Caribbean Sea. These results showed that some mature tarpon make long seasonal migrations over thousands of kilometres crossing state and national jurisdictional borders. Others showed more local movements and habitat use. The tag data also revealed potential spawning locations consistent with those inferred in other studies from observations of early life stage tarpon leptocephalus larvae. Our analyses indicated that shark predation mortality on released tarpon is higher than previously estimated, especially at ocean passes, river mouths and inlets to bays. To date, there has been no formal stock assessment of Atlantic tarpon, and regional fishery management plans do not exist. Our findings will provide critical input to these important efforts and assist the multinational community in the development of a stock‐wide management information system to support informed decision‐making for sustaining Atlantic tarpon fisheries.