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LURE AN ANGLER TO RESEARCH |
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IN THIS SECTION YOU'LL FIND: |
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The "Lure an Angler to Research" Program HCA is proud to announce a new program aimed at providing opportunities for anglers to participate "hands on"
in meaningful research of the majestic Pacific Blue Marlin. "Lure and Angler to Research" will kick off this year at the 14th
Big Island Invitational Marlin Tournament. At the BIIMT, anglers will be able to catch a marlin that qualifies to win money, but enjoy the added extra excitement of planting a high tech device – a pop up archival tag (PAT) – on the marlin that they just caught, and then set it free. The PAT will then take light, pressure and temperature measurements for a set amount of time – say 120 days – and then "pop up" to the surface where it will "up load" the data to a satellite! From here the data is down loaded to our associate scientists computer. A NMFS scientist will oversee the process.
For the first time in history, the travel route that the angler's marlin took after being released will be tracked. This will all be caught on film for ESPN 2 and your fish will be seen tagged by
millions of viewers. The actual track the fish took will be presented on the second show that we will film at the championship tournament of The Maui Jim Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series, and on the HCA web site,
referred to as "Joe Angler's Marlin". Fishermen and scientists have long hypothesized about marlin "migrations"….this experiment will show whether marlin actually "migrate" on routes like some other
animals, or are truly mavericks that choose their own path, but take general north/south movements with the changes of the seasons. The commercial fishing industry has long derided the tagging of marlin, claiming that
the fish do not survive the tag process. They use the low rate of recovery of "normal" tags as their proof. A recent experiment in Bermuda with PAT's (they were point A/B with no route tracking capabilities) proved that
marlin do survive tagging when 8 out of 9 deployed - popped up.
The fish all took independent tracks, proving that the tags did not float with the current. Cynics say that more tags are needed to prove this statistically. OK, let's do it! Tagging mortality and seasonal
travel data is needed for future management efforts, and to prevent over fishing. With "Lure an Angler to Research" you can take an important role in improving the plight of the awesome marlin. There are a couple of
ways that you can participate. If you plan to fish the BIIMT, you can bid on a PAT in an auction to see who will get to deploy the 6 tags on "their" marlin during the tournament. If you want to
participate, but can't make the BIIMT, you can purchase one outright for $5,000.00. Expensive? A little, but keep in mind…this is cutting edge technology being used for the very first time on marlin, in a tournament
situation. The more bids/buys, the more PAT's we deploy. One of the primary reason for creating this program is to provide support for the technology and increase market demand for the devices in order
to bring the prices down, capabilities up, and mass produce them. Only by support from the private sector will we be able to get this much needed research off the ground. National Marine Fisheries has no plan to fund
this research in the near future. Their budget often goes to endangered species. WE DON'T WANT TO WAIT UNTIL THE MARLIN IS ENDANGERED TO DO THIS. So come to Kona and get involved! You could tag
an important marlin, maybe win some money, but it is guaranteed that you'll have a great time - enriched further by taking part in actual research. Call today! |
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Pop Up Archival Tag Deployment "Lure an Angler To Research" (eco-tourism) "Track a Marlin" (technology/science) "Marlin Make a Difference" (education) Corporate Sponsor Information Thank you for your interest in supporting the efforts of HCA to further the technology and research needed to come to understand the movements and
life history of the magnificent marlin. Should you contribute, you will be joining other fine corporate citizens such as Maui Jim Sunglasses, Caterpillar Machinery, The Hawaii Tourism Authority and US Fish &
Wildlife Service. Few animals are more difficult to research than the ocean roaming, multi-national maverick of the sea. These animals are capable of reaching 2,000 pounds, travel thousands of miles and
follow no migratory routes. They are truly an enigma in wildlife research and management. To our knowledge, HCA is the only Non-government organization in the world that will be deploying pop up archival
tags on marlin in the Pacific - or any other ocean – in Y2K. For the first time in history, this technology will be able to track the travel route of a released marlin! We will be deploying the tags during
select events of The Maui Jim Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series. The tags are very expensive ($4,200.00 each plus satellite time) assembled by hand and are not available to the mass market. We have the
only order in for Y2K, and we intend to capitalize on the timing to garner as much publicity as possible. HCA needs the help of private industry to support this research and technology because National
Marine Fisheries Service usually does not allot funding until a species is considered endangered. We don't want to wait that long. Marlin are considered to be over fished, but it is yet unproven, how badly over
fished they are. Since NMFS won't do it until there is a great problem, we have to. This is information is critical to management and the future of marlin in the oceans of the world. Your contribution to
HCA of $5,000.00 will buy you a position as title sponsor on one tag in the "Lure an Angler to Research Program". This means that tag #1 will then become the "YOUR COMPANY" Tag. We will refer to "YOUR COMPANY" Tag in
all Maui Jim Tournament Series TV and media coverage, while discussing the track of that individual fish. Our efforts will be featured in two shows for ESPN 2, during our national magazine ad campaign, broadcasted live
over the World Wide Web through video streaming, and through hosting writers from national and local publications. "Lure an Angler to Research" is our eco-tourism promotion. There are two other
parts to this program. If you wish to support the tech (tracking of the marlin & working with scientists) or educational sectors (public relations through the science & non-profit communities, and the general
public) you can designate which sector of the 3 phase program that you are interested in, and your funds will go there. Your contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law, as we are a 501 (c) 3
non-profit corporation. The greater the amount of the contribution, the more exposure you get in our multi-media ad and coverage campaign. Should you be interested in a contribution of more than
$5,000.00, please call the HCA office at the number below, and we'll custom tailor a package for you! Mahalo |
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