Tagging snapperChrysophrys auratuby scuba divers

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Abstract
A technique is described for the tagging of snapper underwater. Scuba divers release a detachable cod‐end from a normal Granton trawl and tag the snapper at approximately the depth they are trawled. Using this technique, 697 snapper were tagged in the Hauraki Gulf in September 1975. Twenty‐one (3.0%) were returned in the first year and by September 1977, 44 (6.3%) had been returned. The annual rate was only marginally higher than that from conventional programmes where the snapper were tagged at the surface (average value for Hauraki Gulf, 2.2%) and, because of the high cost and the fact that relatively few fish can be tagged by divers, the technique is not likely to be used again in shallow water tagging programmes. However, it will be a valuable technique for tagging snapper and other demersal fish species from deeper waters where decompression is a major cause of damage or death. The low return rate from snapper tagging programmes is thought to be mainly due to the low fishing pressure on the Hauraki Gulf stock.