Fish Facts II

In this photo, Tony Rizzuto and his daughter, Mariko, hold a tagged 30-inch ulua (GT) with an injury showing in front of the tag that Mariko caught while jigging off Mahukona, Hawaii. Fish have a mucous coating that helps prevent infections, and when that coating is removed through handling, rubbing on rocks or sand, or the insertion of a tag, infections may follow. "This is the first time we've seen that kind of injury," says Clay Tam, who runs the ulua-tagging project for the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources. Photo submitted by Jim Rizzuto.