Buckel Lab Collaborates to Track False Albacore

North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) scientists are collaborating once again with fellow researchers – this time, helping track false albacore.  The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and the American Saltwater Guides Association are tagging false albacore to learn more about the movements of these fish, which will assist in proactive management of the fishery, since it is largely unregulated at this time. 

The Buckel lab at CMAST maintains tracking receivers off the waters of North Carolina, which detected some of the false albacore originally tagged for this project in Nantucket Sound. Buckel Lab staff uploaded the data from its receivers into the FACT network, an online collaboration of marine scientists who use a variety of technologies to help with fish and sea turtle conservation.  Once the receiver data is uploaded into the FACT system, the tag numbers are sorted into spreadsheets and sent to the owners of the tag numbers.  When requested, the Buckel Lab shares its receiver data with fellow researchers, like those working on the false albacore project.

According to Jeffery Merrell of the Buckel Lab, sharing information and collaborating with other institutions is an important part of the CMAST mission. “We’re always excited when we hear from other researchers asking to use detections from our receivers in their publications. The receivers we have deployed offshore record any tagged fish that swims within range, whether the tag was deployed by our lab or another institution, so it’s important to get these detections distributed to the correct researchers so their data set is more complete, can help inform their research publications, and in some cases, fisheries regulations.”

To read more about the false albacore project, click HERE.