Nonreporting of recaptured tagged fish by saltwater recreational boat anglers in Texas.

Internal abdominal tags were surreptitiously implanted in 301 fish caught by saltwater recreational boat anglers during creel survey interviews. Eighty- four of 301 anglers subsequently reported their tagged fish, yielding a reporting rate of 28%. Of 154 anglers later contacted, 73 had found the tag and only one knew that the tag had been secretly implanted during the interview. Five anglers suspected that the tag had been implanted. Failure to report tags was most often a result of failure to find the tag. This technique appears suitable for estimating the nonreporting of recaptured tagged fish, at least for weekend boat anglers.