Fish tales from the Capes

The search for a so-called “golden herring” worth $100 to the recreational angler who catches it is drawing closer, after several herring that were tagged and released near Dunsborough were caught as far away as Mandurah.

Cash prizes are being offered from $5 to $100 as part of a Department of Fisheries project, for the capture and return of any herring with an orange tag in its flank just under the dorsal fin.

A team of volunteers and department researchers recently caught and released 1550 tagged herring at various sites around Geographe Bay.

The tagging study is building on a previous study into near shore species and aims to gather data about the movement of Australian herring in the west coast region, their abundance and mortality rate.

Fifteen herring have been recaptured with one fish showing up in Mandurah, more than 120km from where it was tagged and released 12 days previously.

Some of the tagged fish have been recaptured at Whitehills Beach, 20km south of Mandurah, and another at the Dawesville Cut in Mandurah.

Department senior research scientist Doctor Kim Smith said she was pleased recaptured tagged fish were being reported by recreational fishers, but advised it was too early to draw any scientific conclusions.

“A few of them have covered about 10km a day, which for a small fish like a herring is quite remarkable,” Dr Smith said.

“The information we gather will be critical for developing effective management arrangements for this important species, especially as the catch and fishing pressure is not evenly distributed across the west coast bioregion.”

Bunbury recreational fisher Bruce Carvasso had the honour of being the first to catch a tagged fish.

Mr Carvasso used berley to attract a school of herring at Back Beach when he reeled in the tagged fish.

“At first I thought it had a piece of orange seaweed in its side, until, on closer inspection, I could make out the Department of Fisheries phone number,” he said.

“It was very pleasing to be the first to catch a tagged herring and it’s good to be able to do my bit to help the research to ensure there will be herring for the future.”

A second wave of tagging is planned to take place in late 2012.