PIFG Tag-It Project

10/09/2026

Aloha All,

September brought some severe storms for our community and we hope folks continue to recover.

Despite storms and hurricanes, tagging from the community continued on at a high rate of pace despite the weather and we had 5 recoveries reported this month and had 58 tagged fish, our highest month on record.

Our goal when we set out for 2026 was to tag 500 fish. We are well on our way with 371 fish tagged, and believe our community can hit this ambitious goal by the end of 2026. Thank you to each of you for your incredible effort.

Read more in the October newsletter here: https://www.fishtoday.org/tagging-updates/october-2026

We also wanted to send a special thank you to Dash Dicksion and to NOAA fisheries for supporting us this summer with a summer internship. If you had not heard, the tagging program is an unfunded effort by PIFG and the community of fishers to conduct fishermen-led science, continue our fishing traditions, and participate in research. The program would not be possible without each of our taggers and the combined collective effort.

Dash joined us as an intern this summer as part of NOAA's Hollings Scholar Program, an opportunity for college students to participate in research. Dash provided a huge support for getting the word out to more fishers, conducting interviews on how we could improve the program, and being a supportive and caring fisher in our community. Dash also tagged 14 fish this summer, which we were proud of. Thank you Dash for your hard work and helping the tagging program. (Image of him presenting on his internship and from when he first started tagging a decade ago).

Aloha,
PIFG Tag It Team
Pacific Islands Fisheries Group
website: https://www.fishtoday.org/
email: [email protected]
Order tags: https://www.fishtoday.org/pifg-store/tagging

09/15/2026

Tag # A15114
Rossten Arakaki tagged a massive 21 lb 31 inch Omilu. Definitely one we've heard of in a long time. Will have to check the records for the largest tagged omilu!

09/03/2026

Aloha All,

We've had some rough weather this past month, but that doesn't seem to have stopped many of you from getting out and putting some fish on the board!
We had 54 tagged fish reported and 4 recovered tags in August.

Read more in the newsletter here: www.fishtoday.org/tagging-updates/september-2026

Recognition:
Random Raffle: Collin Pungan
Best Tagged Fish Photo: Taidas Belanio
Most Omilu in 1 Week: Tony Montoya Jr.

Annual tagging recognition: As we approach the year's end we are reaching out to suppliers and partners for support with the annual tagging recognition. If you have anyone in your network who might be willing to donate recognition, please reach out to us, as every bit of support helps the program.

Mahalo for your continued contributions to supporting science and a sustainable future in Hawaii's nearshore fisheries!

Sincerely,
PIFG Tagging Team

PC Thad Nakajima

08/24/2026

Duane also got out for his usual stroll and connected with a tagged oio. From the looks of how clean the tag is and without a trace of limu, it was tagged very recently. Thanks for supporting the program and reporting the tag!

08/24/2026

Steele got out to go after some bones as soon as weather started looking less threatening and got rewarded. Thanks for the support!

07/19/2026

Steele's first tagged fish. Congrats on a nice one! We have a feeling it's just a first of many!

07/12/2026

Aloha All,

32 fish tagged this month and two recoveries. As summer heats up, we hope that there will be more recoveries. Surprisingly, both fish that were recovered this month were tagged and recovered in short time period and showed little travel.

We welcome and thank the new taggers who ordered tag kits this past month. We understand this is a commitment and want to thank you for supporting a program we believe will ensure fish for our future. PIFG and many passionate fishers have dedicated over 20 years to the pursuit of tagging and releasing fish. As Clay, our long-time tagger and leader shares that each fish that taggers have put back can contribute 100,000s of eggs that will support new fishing opportunities for others. Thank you to all taggers and fishers who have been a part of this journey together.

We also welcome Dash Dickinson, an intern, who will be helping with outreach, listening to the tagging community on how we can improve, and how we can move the program forward. The goal of his internship is to listen and work with our community to help support our taggers and of course - tag fish. He recently created this survey and we will be raffling 3 sets of 10 tags for everyone who completes it. Please help us better support you and our fisheries. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuvCxfvAhLedlDX4K4mVNXCEg9092ugDBEXkYMmnU9NEDb8Q/viewform

August 15th Tagging Outreach Event & Talk Story Session: We will be hosting a tagging get-together event on the 15th of August on Oahu (location and time to be determined), please reply "Interested" to this email if you are interested in participating. We will follow up with details, timing, and plans in the coming week, but wanted to get word out. If you are on outer-island, please also let us know if you are interested in this event.

Check out the full newsletter here and some great fish pics: https://www.fishtoday.org/tagging-updates/tag-it-july-2026

Upcoming Recognition:

July (Fish Scale / Set of 10 tags / PIFG Special Recognition Item)

Clean Sweep (one of each species)

Random Raffle

Keiki tagger (tagger under 16 - please leave a note in the submission so we know!)

If you have any issues, need anything, or want to talk story, please reach out.

Aloha,
PIFG Tag It Team
Pacific Islands Fisheries Group
website: https://www.fishtoday.org/
email: [email protected]
Order tags: https://www.fishtoday.org/pifg-store

Ordering & Shipping The Lawai’a Magazine is shipped on a quarterly schedule. If you have any issues or need help with your order, please contact Alex at (808) 342-9748 for customer service.For Universities, Libraries, and Educators: If you need an invoice for your order instead of using a credit c...

07/09/2026

If you've ever wanted to watch the process of Naoki Hayashi at work making a Gyotaku print, here's a great opportunity this coming Saturday at Ala Moana Reyns.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KfiPFPtc7/

07/06/2026

Thad goes to "work" even on holidays. Mahalo for the support!

"4th of July flats session. Targeted ‘ō‘io but only managed two small pāpio. I did see an ‘ōmilu ulua trying hard to get something that was hiding in a coral head on the shallow flats. The one ‘ō‘io I hooked went straight off the flats into the deep channel and cut off on the braid. The white pāpio was tagged and released PIFG .

Evergreen Zephyr Avantgarde ZAGS-92
Daiwa 22 Exist PC LT 3000-XH
SLP Works SLPW EX LT Spool 2 3000D
X-Braid Castman PE 1.5
14 # Varivas Absolute AAA Fluoro leader
Sato Lure Co. Aojako and Mint Chocolate Chubby Grub"

07/04/2026

Long time PIFG/Tag It partner and supporter, Naoki Hayashi always has some good insights on many other aspects of life that he's learned from doing his artwork. We always enjoy his demonstrations and now you can take a class for some hands on learning. Check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DzPYztsvP/

Learn the Japanese art of fish printing at the JCCH! 🐟

We invite you to join us for a JCCH-exclusive Gyotaku Workshop with Naoki Hayashi. With hands-on guided instruction, each participant will make their own original gyotaku print to take home.

📆 Saturday, August 1, 2026
🕙 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
🎟️ $175 ($25 discount for JCCH members with coupon code)

➡️ Spaces are limited! Register at bit.ly/jcchgyotaku