How-To | GARMAP

Identify GARMAP Tags

GARMAP tags can be identified by the following markings:

A two letter state code (TX, LA, MS, AL, FL) followed by 5 numbers. For example, TX55555 would be a fish caught on a Texas reef with tag #55555. MS00012 would be a fish caught on a Mississippi reef with tag #00012.

All tags will have "To Report, Please Go To GARMAP.GSMFC.ORG" printed on them, and be yellow in color.

Complete tags look as follows:

MS00012    To Report, Please Go To GARMAP.GSMFC.ORG    MS00012
TX55555    To Report, Please Go To GARMAP.GSMFC.ORG    TX55555
AL99999    To Report, Please Go To GARMAP.GSMFC.ORG    AL99999
LA12345    To Report, Please Go To GARMAP.GSMFC.ORG    LA12345
FL87654    To Report, Please Go To GARMAP.GSMFC.ORG    FL87654

Measuring Fish

For scientific reasearch, fish are measured in either centimeters or millimeters using one, or a combination, of three methods:

Total length (TL):: refers to the length of a fish measured from the tip of the snout to the tip of the longer lobe of the caudal fin, usually measured with the lobes compressed along the midline. It is a straight-line measure, not measured over the curve of the body.
Standard length (SL):: refers to the length of a fish measured from the tip of the snout to the posterior end of the last vertebra or to the posterior end of the midlateral portion of the hypural plate. Simply put, this measurement excludes the length of the caudal fin.
Fork length (FL):: refers to the length of a fish measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the middle caudal fin rays and is used in fishes in which it is difficult to tell where the vertebral column ends.

Weighing Fish

To start with, you will need an acurate scale. An old bathroom, kitchen or luggage scale that is reading too light or too heavy is just not good enough.

You can slip the hook on the scale under the front of the gill plate, avoiding the gill rakers. Or you can punch a hole under the lower jaw, if the fish is one which has a thin membrane there.

The best way is a bag, bucket, or net -- you can just weigh the empty container, then put the fish in and weigh it again, and then subtract the weight of the bucket. But if your fish is bigger than the container, this won't work.

For scientific research, fish are weighed in grams or kilograms.

Recording Catch Locations

For this project, all GPS locations are recorded in the decimal minute format. We also record the reef name as named by the state.