By Susan Cocking
of the Miami Herald
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]wo fisheries scientists from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School have come up with a new and accurate method of estimating tarpon weight that doesn’t harm potential trophy- or world-record-sized fish.
In an article just published in the scientific journal Fisheries Research, authors Jerry Ault and Jiangang Luo lay out a mathematical model that uses a tarpon’s length and girth measurements to make a reliable calculation of weight without having to remove the fish from the water.
“A very cool formula,” Ault said in a telephone interview last week. “It’s a major conservation measure. Hanging [fish] up is a problem everywhere. The short story here is they don’t have to do it.”
Tarpon is a major game species in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern United States that helps support a $6 billion sport fishing industry. Although tarpon tournaments in the Keys have rules requiring minimal handling of fish, some contests in Mexico and elsewhere still allow anglers to hang dead fish up on scales. In southwest Florida’s Boca Grande Pass, the Professional Tarpon Tournament Series has come under fire for encouraging contestants to drag large, live fish by a lip gaff to be weighed in a sling-type scale before release.
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