Same Fish Caught and Released Four Times in Six Years
One 57-pound samsonfish could be the poster child for that argument.
By Doug Olander / Sport Fishing September 11, 2019
Amazingly, for the fourth time in six years in the same spot, the same samsonfish (a large member of the amberjack clan found in the western Pacific) has been caught and released. That's the word from Australia's Game Fish Tagging Program in New South Wales.
This suggests several conclusions. First, of particular importance to recreational fishermen, fish can and do survive after being caught and released. Repeatedly. Secondly, jacks are tough. Samsonfish, amberjacks, almacos and yellowtail (all genus Seriola) make excellent candidates for catch-and-release fishing because they are so resilient. Third, these species may be highly site-specific, at least seasonally, living around the same wreck or reef where they may indeed be caught again and again.