Using Acoustic Telemetry to Track Seasonal Migration of Eel Pond Striped Bass

The Striped Bass Magic program has been tagging striped bass with acoustic telemetry tags since 2018. These tags allow us to study the fine scale movements and behaviors while they are seasonal residents in Eel Pond and their large-scale migratory movements along the East Coast. Migratory movements are tracked via the ACT Network, a cooperative network of acoustic telemetry receivers along the east coast.

Current Map of All ACT Network Acoustic Receivers Deployed Along the East Coast of the US. 

All Receivers That Have Detected Striped Bass Tagged in Eel Pond.

Each acoustic tag has a unique ID that allows investigators to track specific animals. The tags send acoustic “pings” every few minutes. When the tag is in range of an active reciever the detection date and time is logged in the memory of the receiver and the data is offloaded when the receiver is pulled from the water and connected to a computer.