Maine Asks Anglers To Report Tagged Fish

A tagged fish. Photo/Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

If you catch a fish in Maine with a tag sticking off of it, it’s your chance to help both scientists and fish populations.

Officials with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are asking fishermen to report any tagged fish they catch.

Fly fishing in Maine. Photo/Tom Richardson.

Fish biologists use “T-bar tags” or “Floy tags” to mark fish species across the state, helping them gather valuable data on Maine’s fish populations.

Each tag contains a unique identification number, allowing biologists to track individual fish through angler reports.

Anglers who catch a tagged fish should take a clear photo of the tag’s ID number to report it later.

These tags are not transmitters or GPS-enabled. The information gathered from “Floy Tags” relies entirely on public reporting. Angler participation plays a vital role in helping biologists study fish growth, survival, catch rates, species abundance, and movement patterns.

All data collected is confidential and used solely to support efforts to manage fish populations.

When reporting a tagged fish, anglers are asked to provide the following information:

• ♦ The tag ID number
• ♦ Whether the fish was harvested or released
• ♦ The fish’s length
• ♦ The location where it was caught

Current study areas in the state are Mooselookmeguntic Lake, which has 500 tagged wild salmon and brook trout; Wilson/Webb Lake, which has 875 tagged hatchery brook trout; Kennebago Lakes with 75 brook trout; and Pushaw Stream (Pushaw Lake, Little Pushaw Pond, Perch (Mud) Pond, Stillwater River, Penobscot River), where there are 450 northern pike.

Report tagged fish here.