
Fifteen lucky fishermen won $100 each in a recent North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries’ Multi-Species Tagging Program yearly drawing.
Information gathered from tag returns allows researchers to determine species migration patterns, mortality, population structure and habitat use.
The tagging program randomly selected tag numbers from the more than 1,011 fish tags that were turned in by fishermen in 2017. Three tag numbers were selected from each of the five species that are tagged by the program.
The $100 winners who turned in tags from cobia were:
- Joshua Hall of Durham NC
- Austin Cooper of Wake, Virginia
- William Glenn of Culpeper, Virginia
The $100 winners who turned in tags from red drum were:
- Clara Faye Tyson of Morehead City NC
- David Weighbright of Kitty Hawk NC
- Alan Johnson of Jacksonville NC
The $100 winners who turned in tags for striped bass were:
- James Holloway of Trent Woods NC
- Paul Morton of Wendell NC
- Joseph Kinsey of Atlantic Beach NC
The $100 winners who turned in tags for southern flounder were:
- Dominic Vetrano of Arapahoe NC
- Aron Styron III of Cedar Island NC
- Donald McCall of Greenville SC
The $100 winners who turned in tags from spotted seatrout were:
- Nathan Tanner of Camden NC
- Leavy Vicars of Winterville NC
- Michael Litchworth of Macclesfield NC
The Multi-Species Tagging Program began in October 2014 and is funded by a Coastal Recreational Fishing License grant. Staff and volunteers place yellow or red tags on 15,000 fish each year.
Fishermen who catch the tagged fish and return the tags with required information to the division receive a letter and personalized certificate with information about the fish, as well as a reward. Those who return a yellow tag marked with “NCDMF” receive either $5, a tagging program hat, fish towel, or fish pin. Those who return a red tag marked with “NCDMF” and “$100 REWARD” receive a $100 monetary reward.
Fishermen must record the species, tag number, date, location captured, total length of the fish, fate of the fish (released or harvested), and the type of gear used to capture the fish. Yellow tags may be reported by phone, but red tags must be cut-off and returned to the division for the fisherman to receive the reward.
For more information about the Multi-Species Tagging Program, visit portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/tagged-fish.


Source: Patricia Smith, Division of Marine Fisheries