Season Three of The Skillie Project marked an important milestone: our teams successfully deployed two more satellite tags off Nantucket.
These deployments were made possible by four outstanding boats and their crews:
Locating and then tagging a “skillie” requires experienced boat handling, disciplined angling, careful fish handling, and close coordination with the scientific team. We are grateful to the captains, crew, anglers, boat owners, and research team who contributed to this year’s success.
During Nantucket Week, we also revealed an exciting result from an earlier season: a satellite-tagged white marlin caught by Angler Tom Ripley, Captain Jac, and mates Connor Spillman and Kyle Evanst, went for a full duration of 8 months and traveled nearly 7,000 miles.
The fish’s remarkable track offered a glimpse into how far a white marlin may travel after leaving the waters south of Nantucket. It also demonstrated exactly why this research matters.
Our research partner, Pelagic Fisheries Lab at UMaine, helps to support tag deployment and is responsible for processing and analyzing the information transmitted by the tags. Their team helps transform raw data into valuable insights about white marlin movements, behavior, and habitat use across the Atlantic.
Now, the newly tagged fish are beginning stories of their own. We do not yet know where they will travel and what they will do, but that anticipation is part of what makes the project so compelling.
The Skillie Project has always been about more than putting satellite tags on fish. It is a community-driven effort that brings together captains, crews, legacy-fishing-families, researchers, businesses, artists, local venues, and supporters around a shared commitment to white marlin research, conservation and Nantucket’s fishery.
Season Three would not have been possible without our headline sponsors: Okuma Fishing, Simms Fishing, Woody Creek Distillers, and Viking.
Okuma Fishing helped provide the high-performance reels and fishing technology our teams relied on offshore. Simms Fishing supported participants with technical gear suited to long and demanding days on the water. Woody Creek Distillers helped bring the community side of the project to life through its tasting, special cocktail, and enthusiastic support of our events. Lastly, Viking provided the fishing platform, industry leadership, and commitment needed to make ambitious projects like this possible.
We are deeply grateful to all the organizations (headline and local) for believing in the project and helping make this season possible.
Our thanks also go to the many businesses, organizations, families, and members of the fishing community that contributed equipment, products, accommodations, venues, expertise, hospitality, and event support:
The MidAtlantic and the Weber Family; Oyster Harbors Marine; Pelagic Fisheries Lab; YETI; Fish & Tackle; Release Marine; ROFFS; Cape Cod Bluewater Classic; Onyx Partners Ltd.; Lids; Big Game Battle Nantucket; Cisco Brewers; Nantucket Tackle; Café 22; Skillie Shootout; Nantucket Boat Basin; King Sailfish Mounts; Faraway Nantucket; Slip 14; Nantucket Anglers’ Club; Pete’s Fish Tales; and Fresh Nantucket.
Season Three showed what becomes possible when fishermen, scientists, businesses, and an entire community rally around a common purpose. One tagged white marlin has already shown us a journey of nearly 7,000 miles, and we just got word of a satellite tag that went for a full 12 months, and we can’t wait to see where that skillie went to help continue to carry the research forward.
Interested in supporting or learning more about The Skillie Project and our other Groundswell projects, click here.
Season Three of The Skillie Project marked an important milestone: our teams successfully deployed two more satellite tags off Nantucket.
These deployments were made possible by four outstanding boats and their crews:
Locating and then tagging a “skillie” requires experienced boat handling, disciplined angling, careful fish handling, and close coordination with the scientific team. We are grateful to the captains, crew, anglers, boat owners, and research team who contributed to this year’s success.
During Nantucket Week, we also revealed an exciting result from an earlier season: a satellite-tagged white marlin caught by Angler Tom Ripley, Captain Jac, and mates Connor Spillman and Kyle Evanst, went for a full duration of 8 months and traveled nearly 7,000 miles.
The fish’s remarkable track offered a glimpse into how far a white marlin may travel after leaving the waters south of Nantucket. It also demonstrated exactly why this research matters.
Our research partner, Pelagic Fisheries Lab at UMaine, helps to support tag deployment and is responsible for processing and analyzing the information transmitted by the tags. Their team helps transform raw data into valuable insights about white marlin movements, behavior, and habitat use across the Atlantic.
Now, the newly tagged fish are beginning stories of their own. We do not yet know where they will travel and what they will do, but that anticipation is part of what makes the project so compelling.
The Skillie Project has always been about more than putting satellite tags on fish. It is a community-driven effort that brings together captains, crews, legacy-fishing-families, researchers, businesses, artists, local venues, and supporters around a shared commitment to white marlin research, conservation and Nantucket’s fishery.
Season Three would not have been possible without our headline sponsors: Okuma Fishing, Simms Fishing, Woody Creek Distillers, and Viking.
Okuma Fishing helped provide the high-performance reels and fishing technology our teams relied on offshore. Simms Fishing supported participants with technical gear suited to long and demanding days on the water. Woody Creek Distillers helped bring the community side of the project to life through its tasting, special cocktail, and enthusiastic support of our events. Lastly, Viking provided the fishing platform, industry leadership, and commitment needed to make ambitious projects like this possible.
We are deeply grateful to all the organizations (headline and local) for believing in the project and helping make this season possible.
Our thanks also go to the many businesses, organizations, families, and members of the fishing community that contributed equipment, products, accommodations, venues, expertise, hospitality, and event support:
The MidAtlantic and the Weber Family; Oyster Harbors Marine; Pelagic Fisheries Lab; YETI; Fish & Tackle; Release Marine; ROFFS; Cape Cod Bluewater Classic; Onyx Partners Ltd.; Lids; Big Game Battle Nantucket; Cisco Brewers; Nantucket Tackle; Café 22; Skillie Shootout; Nantucket Boat Basin; King Sailfish Mounts; Faraway Nantucket; Slip 14; Nantucket Anglers’ Club; Pete’s Fish Tales; and Fresh Nantucket.
Season Three showed what becomes possible when fishermen, scientists, businesses, and an entire community rally around a common purpose. One tagged white marlin has already shown us a journey of nearly 7,000 miles, and we just got word of a satellite tag that went for a full 12 months, and we can’t wait to see where that skillie went to help continue to carry the research forward.
Interested in supporting or learning more about The Skillie Project and our other Groundswell projects, click here.
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Exploring the Depths of Conservation: Dive into the latest updates and insights from The Billfish Foundation. Discover engaging stories and pioneering research in our ongoing commitment to marine preservation.
