Despite many theories on how Atlantic cod move in the Gulf of Maine, neighboring Canadian waters and Southern New England waters, there is little consensus in the research literature to date.

The aims of the current program are to:

Tag 100,000 Atlantic cod within two years, using a standardized tagging technique, throughout the Gulf of Maine and neighboring waters in Canada and Southern New England;

Use tag returns to monitor and identify the migration patterns of Atlantic cod throughout the study region;

Identify the extent of mixing between populations of cod in these water bodies;

Obtain valuable growth information from Atlantic cod living in their natural environment;

Investigate the roles of temperature, depth and reproductive condition on the migration and growth evidenced;

Conduct a successful collaborative research initiative, in which commercial fishermen work closely with scientists to realize the aims of the program;

Make the data accessible to the public through a near-real time, online GIS mapping interface.

Identify potential ancillary studies which would further investigate specific findings from the current program.

The NRCTP's information leaflet summarizes these aims and can be downloaded and printed for convenient referral; alternatively, you can request a printed copy by emailing us at tagging@gmri.org. All of our Newsletters are also available for download, including the most recent overview of findings, prepared in January 2008.