Black Musselcracker Recapture is Proof that Fish Tagging Does Work

Remember the story about the biggest Black Musselcracker caught in KwaZulu Natal. Well, Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI) has shared a story on social media this week about the success of its Cooperative Fish Tagging Project notching up its 343rd Black Musselcracker / Poenskop tag recapture.

According to the article the 343rd Black Musselcracker/Poenskop tag recapture was made on 22 February 2023. Originally tagged on 29 June 2018 in the surf near the Duiwenshoeks River in the Western Cape, it measured 50cm fork length.

This specie of fish is known to be extremely slow growing, and the latest recapture 1699 days (4.7 years) later in the Wilderness area, 190 km away, revealed that it was only 56cm fork length.