Registration is annual, beginning in January. Participation is limited to 160 anglers, and anglers are requested to renew their registration each year. Training workshops are held in February and March in Virginia Beach, Newport News, Wachapreague, and Gloucester Point, and anglers are required to attend at least one session to enable the directors an opportunity to interact with all program participants to help assure the quality of their tagging efforts. Anglers also practiced inserting tags in fish from local seafood markets to clarify questions about proper tagging technique, reinforce proper fish handling, and allow anglers to become familiar with the tagging process while under supervision. Mistakes during practice provide an excellent learning situation through which anglers immediately benefit from their mistakes and gain confidence in their skills.
Special recognition is given to anglers tagging the most fish in each species category.
Mike Perron dominated these awards, being the top tagger of black sea bass, tautog, and black drum. Volunteers participating the program have the opportunity to earn recognition for their conservation efforts. These two gentlemen collectively tagged and released more than 350 tautog at several sites in conjunction with an ultrasonic telemetry study on tautog conducted by VIMS between November 1998 and September 1999. 51 recapture events of these fish occurred, providing invaluable comparisons between conventional and ultrasonic tagging data. Mike Perron won the 1999 award by recapturing 195 fish.