Not only did 2015 mark the first year that the IGFA Great Race (IGMR) was held in Bermuda (which became the 18 th country in the world added to the IGMR!), but it was the first time IGMR tags were deployed off the east shore of North America in the North Atlantic! On June 30, 2015, during the 2015 Bermuda Billfish Release Cup, Will Thornill of Mama Who successfully deployed the first satellite tag in the 2015 Hamilton, Bermuda IGMR! The estimated 91 kg (200 lb) blue marlin was caught after a quick fight with tag sponsor Lainey Jones. Six days later, on July 6, 2015 and during the 2015 Bermuda Billfish Blast, Lainey reeled in another blue of the same size which Mama Who Captain Ronnie Burbage described as "healthy" as it swam away with the second satellite tag of the race. Both fish were caught on trolled skirted lures and were brought to the boat quickly on 60 kg (130 lb) tackle. On July 10, 2015, the second day of the Bermuda Big Game Classic, Shon Craig released an estimated 68 kg (150 lb) blue with the third satellite tag of the IGMR! The tag, sponsored by Galati Yacht Sales, was deployed after a quick fight with angler Sharyn Craig while fishing from Amarula Sun. Six days later, in the afternoon of the second day of the Sea Horse Anglers Club Billfish Tournament, Trey White tagged an estimated 102 kg (225 lb) blue marlin after a quick fight with Last Stall owner and tag sponsor Dan Murphy. According to the data sheet, the fish was released in "in good condition." The following day, on July 17, 2015, tag sponsor Wally Whitley reeled in an estimated 39 kg (85 lb) blue marlin while fishing aboard his boat Que Mas. The fish was released with the fifth satellite tag of the race. The following morning of July 18, 2015, the sixth tag went out on the largest blue in the race: an estimated 136 kg (300 lb) marlin. Will Thornhill deployed the tag after a 35 minute bout with sponsor Lainey Jones while fishing aboard her boat Mama Who. This was the third tag that Lainey generously sponsored for the Hamilton, Bermuda IGMR. *The total estimated distance is based on the length of a best-guess track calculated using light and sea surface temperature measurements from the tag and a complex mathematical algorithm. Since each location along the track potentially has significant error associated with it, the IGMR instead uses the reliable and more precise linear distance (the point of tag deployment determined by GPS to the point of tag pop-up determined by Argos satellites) to establish IGMR results and winners
A few hours later, sponsor and Raptor owner Moises Roman Maionica fought an estimated 91 kg (200 lb) blue that was then tagged and released by Captain Hunter Easthope. Soon after, Chris Carrere placed the eighth tag in the race on an estimated 45 kg (100 lb) blue that was reeled in after a quick fight with sponsor Shon Craig of Raymond M. Craig III Family Foundation aboard his boat Amarula Sun. The ninth and final tag of the IGMR, generously sponsored by Frank and Mary Ellen Rodriguez of Fa-La-Me, was deployed on the second day of the tournament on July 16, 2015. Hamilton, Bermuda 2015 Deployments Tag Boat Fish Species Tagged Reported Days at Large Distance (nm) Est. Wt. (lbs) Est. Wt. (kg) Angler Tagger 14P0562 Mama Who 1 6/30/2015 8/9/2015 40 36 200 91 Lainey Jones Will Thornill 14P0544 Mama Who 2 7/6/2015 3/2/2016 240 1,823 200 91 Lainey Jones Will Thornill 14P0546 Amarula Sun 3 7/10/2015 11/18/2015 131 2,293 150 68 Sharyn Craig Shon Craig 14P0503 Last Stall 4 7/16/2015 3/13/2016 241 2,431 225 102 Dan Murphy Trey White 14P0527 Que Mas 5 7/17/2015 Did Not Report 85 39 Wally Whitley T. Morris 14P0545 Mama Who 6 7/18/2015 2/13/2016 210 1,322 300 136 Lainey Jones Will Thornill 13P0364 Raptor 7 7/18/2015 Did Not Report 200 91 Moises Roman Maionica Hunter Easthope 14P0554 Amarula Sun 8 7/18/2015 Did Not Report 100 45 Shon Craig Chris Carrere 14P0528 Fa-La-Me 9 7/16/2015 3/12/2016 240 2,138 125 57 *The total estimated distance is based on the length of a best-guess track calculated using light and sea surface temperature measurements from the tag and a complex mathematical algorithm. Since each location along the track potentially has significant error associated with it, the IGMR instead uses the reliable and more precise linear distance (the point of tag deployment determined by GPS to the point of tag pop-up determined by Argos satellites) to establish IGMR results and winners
The tag on Fish 1 Team Mama Who Tag 1 (Tag 14P0562) was the first to surface on August 9, 2015 to claim sixth place in the race. After just 40 days, the tag popped up 36 nautical miles (nm) due south from where it was tagged and recorded a distance we estimate to be 247* nm. The relatively short tag deployment is related to a notable occurrence on July 28, 2015, nearly one month after the blue was tagged. The data shows the light levels recorded by the tag became consistently dark and the temperatures became stable around 25 C (77 F) despite the recorded deep dives into colder water. This indicates to us that that the tag was actually ingested by an endothermic predator, potentially a white or mako shark! Three months later, the tag on Fish 3 Team Galati Yacht Sales (Tag 14P0546) popped up on November 18, 2015 to take second place in the race! In 131 days, the blue marlin swam across the Atlantic to Cape Verde and covered an impressive point-to-point distance of 2,293 nm and an estimated total distance of 3,362 nm*! The data showed that Fish 3 spent the majority of its time in waters above the 20 (68 F) thermocline at depths between the surface and 150 m (492 ft), but frequently made deeper dives into colder waters. In mid-september, about halfway through the *The total estimated distance is based on the length of a best-guess track calculated using light and sea surface temperature measurements from the tag and a complex mathematical algorithm. Since each location along the track potentially has significant error associated with it, the IGMR instead uses the reliable and more precise linear distance (the point of tag deployment determined by GPS to the point of tag pop-up determined by Argos satellites) to establish IGMR results and winners
deployment, the marlin took its deepest dive to a depth of 328 m (1,076 ft) where it encountered cooler water temperatures of 13.6 C (57 F). The tag on Fish 6 Team Mama Who Tag 3 (Tag 14P0545) surfaced on February 13, 2016, after recording data for 210 days on the blue marlin. The tag popped off the northeast coast of Venezuela, 1,322 nm from where it was deployed in Bermuda, to earn fifth place in the race. However, as you can see by the track, the blue traveled much farther! Fish 6 swam northeast into the Atlantic, passing south of the Azores, before it swam southwest towards the popup location, covering a remarkable, estimated total distance of 6,108 nm*! The blue spent the majority of its time in waters above the 20 C (68 F) thermocline, at depths between the surface and 100 m, but frequently made deeper dives into colder water. Fish 6 made its deepest dive just, days before the tag popped off, to a depth of 512 m (1,680 ft) where it experienced a frigid water temperature of 7.6 C (46 F) Two weeks later, the tag on Fish 2 Team Mama Who Tag 2 (Tag 14P0544) popped up on March 2, 2016 after the full programmed deployment period of 240 days! The tag popped up about 680 nm off the coast of French Guiana and Brazil (a linear distance of 1,823 nm) to take fourth place in the race. Fish 2 swam a similar route as Fish 6, but Fish 2 went further north before turning south toward the popup location, covering an estimated total distance of 5,850 nm*! Although the data recorded by the tag demonstrated similar diving and temperature patterns as the other fish in the event, Fish 2 encountered its coldest water temperature of 9 C (48 F) during a February dive to 400 m (1,312 ft) and not during its deepest dive to 600 m (1,969 ft), which occurred earlier in the deployment in August. One week later and also after the full programmed deployment period of 240 days, the tag on Fish 9 Team Fa-La-Me (Tag 14P0528) surfaced on March 12, 2016 to claim third place in the race! The tag popped up about 350 nm southeast from where Fish 2 s tag popped up and recorded a linear distance of 2,138 nm. Unlike the other marlin in the tournament, Fish 9 initially headed northwest, turned around off the coast of North Carolina, and continued on a nearly straight path to record a distance we estimate to be 4,370 nm*! Fish 9 spent the majority of its time in warmer waters above 24 C (75 F) and generally stayed above the 15 C thermocline, even on deeper dives. The coldest water temperature Fish 9 experienced was 12.2 C (54 F) in mid-january during the blue s deepest dive to 416 m (1,365 ft). The following day on March 13, 2016, the tag on Fish 4 Team Last Stall (Tag 14P0503) popped up after 241 days to win the inaugural 2015 Hamilton, Bermuda IGMR! Making a strikingly similar migration as Fish 3, Fish 4 swam a linear distance of 2,431 nm (and an estimated total distance of 4,263 nm*) across the Atlantic to Cape Verde, beating Fish 3 by just 138 nm! Fish 4 spent the majority of its time above the 20 C (68 F) thermocline, at depths between the surface and 100 m, with infrequent dives below the thermocline. The blue undertook its deepest dive earlier in the deployment, in mid-august, to a depth of 360 m (1,181 ft). However, the coldest water of 12.2 C (54 F) encountered by Fish 4 occurred midway through the deployment in *The total estimated distance is based on the length of a best-guess track calculated using light and sea surface temperature measurements from the tag and a complex mathematical algorithm. Since each location along the track potentially has significant error associated with it, the IGMR instead uses the reliable and more precise linear distance (the point of tag deployment determined by GPS to the point of tag pop-up determined by Argos satellites) to establish IGMR results and winners
November when the marlin made a deep dive to nearly 300 m (984 ft). Congratulations to Dan Murphy and Team Last Stall for their winning marlin! A total of nine tags were deployed during the 2015 Hamilton, Bermuda IGMR, with six popping up and covering incredible ground! Unfortunately, three tags belonging to Teams Que Mas, Raptor, and Amarula Sun did not report. While we make every effort to get data from every tag deployed (and we maintain a reporting rate of over 83%), these occurrences are an inevitable risk with any wildlife tagging program. The good news is that of the six tags that did report, three stayed with the marlin for the full programmed deployment duration of 240 dayshelping us learn more than ever before about these amazing fish! The tags deployed during the 2015 Hamilton, Bermuda IGMR have greatly contributed to a growing Atlantic blue marlin dataset. What we find especially interesting is the substantial movements by the blue marlin across the Atlantic from west to east. The fact that two marlin, of the nine tagged in the race, visited Cape Verde (an archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa) suggests potential vulnerability of this species to fisheries in that area. Future data will help us determine if these behaviors were anomalous, or representative of a wider behavioral pattern. However, this inaugural event in Bermuda has already topped all other IGMR events in the average distance traveled by tagged blue marlin (total miles traveled: 10,043 nm; median distance 1,322 nm; average distance: 1,116 nm)! We are very excited to add data from Atlantic blue marlin to the IGMR database and hope to increase this data set during the 2016 Hamilton, Bermuda IGMR. We are grateful to the tag sponsors, captains, anglers, crew, and participants that made the inaugural IGMR event so successful, and especially to tournament director Dan Jacobs. Additional thanks to Garmin, Costa, King Sailfish Mounts, Steve Goione, and Huk who donated prizes for the IGMR winner which provided additional incentives for tag sponsorships. These datasets help us to learn about billfish behavior in an effort to increase their conservation and protect the sport we love for future generations of fishing! *The total estimated distance is based on the length of a best-guess track calculated using light and sea surface temperature measurements from the tag and a complex mathematical algorithm. Since each location along the track potentially has significant error associated with it, the IGMR instead uses the reliable and more precise linear distance (the point of tag deployment determined by GPS to the point of tag pop-up determined by Argos satellites) to establish IGMR results and winners
Tag 14P0562 Fish 1 Tag number: 14P0562 Sponsor: Lainey Jones Angler: Lainey Jones Tagger: Will Thornhill Boat: Mama Who Species: Estimated weight: 91 kg Deployed: 6/30/2015 Reported: 8/9/2015 Days at large: 40 Distance traveled: 36 nm Maximum depth: 584 m Minimum temp: 19 C Maximum temp: 29.6 C
Tag 14P0544 Fish 2 Tag number: 14P0544 Sponsor: Lainey Jones Angler: Lainey Jones Tagger: Will Thornhill Boat: Mama Who Species: Estimated weight: 91 kg Deployed: 7/6/2015 Reported: 3/2/2016 Days at large: 240 Distance traveled: 1,823 nm Maximum depth: 600 m Minimum temp: 9 C Maximum temp: 31 C
Tag 14P0546 Fish 3 Tag number: 14P0546 Sponsor: Carmine Galati Angler: Sharyn Craig Tagger: Shon Craig Boat: Amarula Sun Species: Estimated weight: 68 kg Deployed: 7/10/2015 Reported: 11/18/2015 Days at large: 131 Distance traveled: 2,293 nm Maximum depth: 328 m Minimum temp: 13.6 C Maximum temp: 30 C
Tag 14P0503 Fish 4 Tag number: 14P0503 Sponsor: Dan Murphy Angler: Dan Murphy Tagger: Trey White Boat: Last Stall Species: Estimated weight: 102 kg Deployed: 7/16/2015 Reported: 3/13/2016 Days at large: 241 Distance traveled: 2,431 nm Maximum depth: 360 m Minimum temp: 12.2 C Maximum temp: 29.6 C
Tag 14P0545 Fish 6 Tag number: 14P0545 Sponsor: Lainey Jones Angler: Lainey Jones Tagger: Will Thornhill Boat: Mama Who Species: Estimated weight: 136 kg Deployed: 7/18/2015 Reported: 2/13/2016 Days at large: 210 Distance traveled: 1,322 nm Maximum depth: 512 m Minimum temp: 7.6 C Maximum temp: 28.6 C
Tag 14P0528 Fish 9 Tag number: 14P0528 Sponsor: Frank and Mary Ellen Rodriguez Boat: Fa-La-Me Species: Estimated weight: 57 kg Deployed: 7/16/2015 Reported: 3/12/2016 Days at large: 240 Distance traveled: 2,138 nm Maximum depth: 416 m Minimum temp: 12.2 C Maximum temp: 31.4 C