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AUSTIN, Texas--Hooking a tarpon is somewhat like grabbing hold of a runaway train. The ride doesn^t stop until you run out of track.
Heralded for their awe-inspiring jumps and tenacious power, tarpon are the stuff from which fish tales are spun. Although they may not be as prominent a game fish in Texas as they were during the first half of the century, a recent catch illustrates the "silver king" is still running.
Fishing from the beach on Padre Island National Seashore in late July, Keven London managed to reel in, measure and release what may have been a new state record tarpon. The fish measured 7 feet, 8 inches, a half-foot longer than Thomas Gibson Jr.^s long-standing Texas mark. Because London released the fish alive, rather than have it weighed on certified scales, the catch does not qualify for the record.
Still, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) marine scientist Bob Colura, the fish could have been a new record based on length and weight conversion tables developed in Florida for catch and release documentation. "Using this information, the fish would weigh an average of 214 pounds," said Colura. "The current record weighed 210 pounds so it^s possible."
Based on the data, London^s tarpon was between 40 and 50 years old. More significant from Colura^s perspective is the evidence of such big tarpon along the Texas coast. Biologists at TPW^s Perry R. Bass Marine Fisheries Research Station in Palacios, along with other marine scientists at Texas A&M University at Galveston and the Universidad Technologico de Victoria in Tamaulipas, Mexico, are studying the life history, ecology, and genetics of tarpon. Biologists, guides and anglers around the world have been cooperating in the study; pulling scales for DNA analyses and tagging released fish.
"The objective of this program is to define the stock of tarpon on the Texas coast," said Colura. "We hope to determine if Texas tarpon live only in Texas waters or migrate and if so where. Tarpon have been found up and down the Texas coast for many years. The fish is increasingly popular among sport fishermen in Texas and many of the guides are reporting fish weighing more than 100 pounds."
Researchers also hope to identify those tarpon haunts in Texas. The study has confirmed some newly spawned fish enter the estuaries in Texas but there is no evidence the young fish survive the winter, according to Colura, who noted the fish do not appear again in TPW coastal fisheries samples for two to three years.
Preliminary analyses of tarpon DNA from across the distribution of the species suggests that Texas tarpon are more closely related to tarpon from Mexico than tarpon from Louisiana or Florida. "This means that management of Texas tarpon will require cooperation with scientists and resource managers in Mexico," said Dr. Larry McKinney, TPW director for aquatic resources. "It also means that supporting evidence, in the form of tarpon tag recoveries, is critical if we are to manage effectively."
To help gather the needed date, TPW is looking to ardent tarpon fishermen to assist in tagging tarpon and collecting scales for genetic analysis. Tag returns will be invaluable in determining if the Texas tarpon population migrate into Mexican waters. Those interested in assisting in the program should contact Britt Bumguardner, Bob Colura or Rocky Ward at the Perry R. Bass Marine Fisheries Research Station, HC 02 Box 385, Palacios, Texas 774654 or call (361) 972-5483
Uploaded: 9/17/1999
Uploaded: 9/17/1999