DATE: Thursday, Marcy 20, 1997              TAG: 9703070202

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

                                            LENGTH:   18 lines

TAG TEAM TUNA

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Above, an archival tag is inserted into the body cavity of a bluefin

tuna in a nearly bloodless procedure that keeps the fish on the deck

of a boat off of Cape Hatteras for about three minutes. The fish is

later released, at right. Its tag will allow researchers to monitor

its swimming and spawning habits. The abundance of bluefin tuna off

the Outer Banks prompted the huge tagging operation. The research,

done by the National Marine Fisheries Service Cooperative Tuna

Tagging Center, will be conducted for about a three-year period.

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