The common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), dolphin, dorado, or mahi-mahi is a well known epipelagic food and game fish with cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and subtropical waters across the globe. Dolphinfish permanently occupy more than 30 percent of the ocean's surface and seasonally occupy an additional 15 percent. They occur in U.S. waters in the Pacific off the coast of California, in the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida west coast to Texas. As a sportfish, dolphinfish are known for their spectacular colors, strength, leaping ability and highly palatable flesh. Like many oceanic species there are large gaps in our knowledge of the migration patterns of dolphinfish and the factors that influence them. Furthermore, relatively little is known about the life histroy, population structure, age and growth, age at maturity, reproductive status, feeding habits, and general ecology of dolphinfish in the Gulf of Mexico. This large gap in the data is evidence of the challenges often associated with attempting to estimate let alone manage a stock that potenially migrates across numerous foreign and domestic boundaries.

The goals of this proposed study are to

1) gather information about the life history patterns, population structure, age and growth, and ecology of dolphinfish in the Gulf of Mexico

2) identify the major seasonal migration routes of dolphinfish along the coast of Texas and begin to evaluate the factors that influence these movements

This investigation is particularly interesting in its approach in that Stunz's research team will be recruiting recreational anglers for participation in the study. Texas anglers will be provided with a unique opportunity to participate first hand in the study by tagging juvenile through adult dolphinfish, providing information associated with their location and habitat and by donating specimens at various sportfishing events this summer and throughout the 2011 season. Anglers who choose to participate are set to receive various incentives for partcipating in the study.