Approximately 3,000 adult tautog (Tautoga onitis Linnaeus), were tagged with fluorescent ribbons at four spawning locations in the West Passage of Narragansett Bay during the spring of 1961. The distribution of 230 tag returns over a 2 1/2-year period indicated that the Narragansett Bay tautog is local to Rhode Island's coastal waters. The adult population inhabits the bay and inshore waters from early May until late October. During the winter, tautog occupy deeper areas with rugged bottom topography, where they are relatively dormant and forage little for food.