Editing Game fish (section)

==Game-fish tagging programs==
[[File:Mark Cantrell tagging a fish (8696825616).jpg|thumb|Biologists in [[North Carolina]] injecting a [[Moxostoma#Species|sicklefin redhorse]] with an identifying tag]]
{{main|Tag and release}}
As part of the [[catch-and-release]] practice encouraged to promote [[Wildlife management|conservation]], tagging programs were established. Some of their goals are to improve the [[fisheries management|management]] of fishery resources and to keep records on [[fish stocks|abundance]], age, [[population growth rate|growth rate]]s, [[animal migration|migrations]] and [[breed]] [[animal identification|identification]].

Some well-known tagging programs in the United States are the [[South Carolina]] Marine Game Fish Tagging Program and the [[Virginia]] Game Fish Tagging Program. The South Carolina Marine Game Fish Tagging Program began in 1974 and it is now{{when|date=October 2021}}<!--Since what year?--> the largest public tagging program in the [[Southeastern United States]]. Anglers are trained and then receive a tag kit with tags, applicator, and instructions. When they tag a fish, anglers use a reply postcard they receive in advance to send the information on the tag number, tag date, [[Location (geography)|location]], [[species]], and [[Measurement|size]]. This program issues anglers who tag and release 30 or more eligible species within a year a conservation award. When an angler recaptures a tagged fish, they then should report the recapture. If possible, the tag number and the mailing address should be reported, along with the location and date of the recapture, as well with the measurement of the fish. The objective is to provide [[biologists]] with the necessary information to determine growth rate through an accurate measurement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/tagfish.html|title=SC Marine Game Fish Tagging Program|access-date=2010-05-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509170801/http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/tagfish.html|archive-date=9 May 2010}}</ref> The Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program started operations in 1995 and keeps records on recaptured fish since then. This is an annual program that starts in January and it is limited to 160 anglers. Anglers receive training workshops in February and March.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.vims.edu/adv/recreation/tag/index.html|title=Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program|access-date=2010-05-07|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924090005/http://web.vims.edu/adv/recreation/tag/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>