Wildlife officials offering prizes for south GA anglers in blue catfish study

BEN HILL COUNTY, Ga. — If you love to fish in south Georgia, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division is asking for your help.

Researchers are conducting a blue catfish tagging project on the Satilla River in Ben Hill County, Georgia.

Managers of fisheries are hoping this study will let them learn more about this non-native species and its impact on Georgia wildlife.

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“As a large non-native species in the Satilla River, blue catfish have the potential to negatively impact many of the existing native species in the river, including the prized redbreast sunfish. These tagging efforts will provide fishery managers with important data to better understand movement of the fish in the river; assess how quickly fish are growing; and yield some information on fishing mortality for the species,” said Jim Page, WRD Senior Fisheries Biologist. “In exchange for reporting tag information, anglers will be rewarded, so get out there and fish so you can have a chance to get some free swag!”

Spotting one of the tagged blue catfish is easy. There will be a large orange dart tag stuck to the fish.

The tag has a unique number and a mailing address to return the tag.

Officials ask that you keep the fish, remove the tag, and mail it to the address listed on the tag.

You can also report it by calling 912-285-6481.

You’ll need to include the following information: total length (in inches), weight (in pounds), your contact information (name, address, phone number), and information on the catch (GPS coordinates, nearby landmarks).

Once you successfully report tag information, you’ll have a custom hat and information about the tagged fish mailed out to you.

For more information on the Satilla blue catfish tagging study, call the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division Fisheries Management Office (Waycross, GA) at 912-285-6481.

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