MSC 134 Fishing Gear Technology II

“Fish tagging programs are a vital part of a fishery manager’s tools for assessing fish populations. Conducted properly, tagging can yield a wealth of information, including data about movement patterns, population structure, and mortality rates.” 1 When marking fish – think about the reason for marking. Identifying an individual fish or a group of fish? Will the mark affect the fish’s behavior or increase mortality? What are the chances that the tag will be lost or misidentified? There are a variety of tagging and marking methods available. 1. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: 2

Tagging and Marking Methods Biological (Natural Methods) Parasitic Marks Morphological Marks Genetic Marks Chemical Methods Immersion Injection Feeding Physical (Mutilation or Tags) External Mutilation Tags Internal Tags 3

Physical Methods Mutilation – Clipping or punching fins or other body parts which can later be used to identify individuals. Branding – Uses hot or cold instruments against the body of a fish in order to produce an identifiable mark for recognition. 4

Physical Methods 5 Tags – Internal and External Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Physical: Common Tag Types Internal Thermal Tags Micro-tags Coded Wire Tags Subcutaneous Tags Body Cavity Tags Passive Integrated Transponder Tags (PIT) Radio Tags Sonar Tags DST GPS Fish Tag Data Storage Tag (DST) Global Positioning System (GPS) External Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) Paper Fasteners Strap Tags Dart /Anchor/ Streamer Tags Spaghetti Tags Dangler Tags Carlin Tags Disc Tags Petersen Discs Carlin Tags Specialized Electronic Tags Pop-off Satellite Tag (PSAT) Global Positioning System (GPS) 6

Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) 7 VIE Tag

Strap Tags 8 Occasionally referred to as Opercle Tags

Dart/Anchor/Streamer Tags 9 A tagged red drum, about to be released.

Disc Tags 10 Petersen Disc tag below the dorsal fin of a warmouth. Carlin darter tag attached to a walleye.

Physical Methods External Advantages Can be seen without dissection of the fish. Many allow for individual recognition. Inexpensive. Disadvantages Can cause higher mortality by: Attracting predators. Interfere with locomotion. Make the organism more susceptible to disease and infection. 11

Physical: Common Tag Types Internal Thermal Tags Microtags Coded Wire Tags Subcutaneous Tags (VIE) Body Cavity Tags Passive Integrated Transponder Tags (PIT) Acoustic Tags Radio Tags Sonar Tags DST GPS Fish Tag Data Storage Tag (DST) Archival Tags Global Positioning System (GPS) External Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) Paper Fasteners Strap Tags Dart /Anchor/ Streamer Tags Spaghetti Tags Dangler Tags Carlin Tags Disc Tags Petersen Discs Carlin Tags Specialized Tags Pop-off Satellite Tag (PSAT) Global Positioning System (GPS) 12

Coded Wire Tag 13 A small piece of wire injected into juvenile fish using small applicators or by hand.

Body Cavity Tags 14 Various body cavity tags generally require “in the field” surgical implantation. VEMCO acoustic transmitters.

Specialized Tags 15 Pop-off Satellite Archival Tags. (PSAT) Tethered Acoustic Tag

Physical Methods Internal Advantages Do not protrude from the body. Do not require removal of parts of the fish. Non-toxic and may put less stress on the fish compared to other tagging methods. Can be inexpensive. *see disadvantages Disadvantages Can be expensive. *see advantages Trained personnel are necessary. Recovery is difficult. 16

Electronic Tags Passive Integrated Transponding Tags (PIT) Inserted using a veterinary syringe. Decoded with portable hand-held readers or automatic readers. Tag detection range is very short. 17

Electronic Tags Continuously Transmitting Radio and Acoustic Tags Larger than PIT tags – require an internal battery. Accurate geo-location is possible by a variety of methods. Attachment of the tag can be internal or external. The detection range is generally less than 100 meters. May extend to a kilometer in some instances. 18

Continuously Transmitting Radio and Acoustic Tags Pulsed Tags Radio tags. Non-programmable pulsed radio tags. Programmable pulsed radio tags. Acoustic tags. Non-programmable pulsed acoustic tags. Combined Acoustic and Radio Tags (CART) Hybrid tag: combines components of both radio & acoustic tags. Allow individual fish to be tracked between salt and freshwater. Coded tags Coded radio tags Coded acoustic tags 19

Electronic Tags Transponding Acoustic Tags Transmit an acoustic signal only when they receive an interrogation pulse from a sonar. Size of tag varies according to frequency and range. Can be used for physical or physiological data telemetry. Data Storage Tags (DST’s) Also known as Archival Tags. Some tags can record data for up to 5 years and store the information for up to 20 years. To retrieve the information, the tags must be recovered from the fish. High cost of the tags are offset by the enormous amount of data that can be generated from a single tagged animal. 20

VEMCO VR2W Positioning System (VPS) VEMCO Telemetry Local Surveys and Results Cape Fear River Watch – Striped Bass Cape Fear River - Shad 21

Suppliers / Costs Biomark Fish Tagger Floy Tag Microwave Telemetry, INC. Northwest Marine Technology, INC. Weetags 22

Bibliographic Citations “About Tagging” Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 22 April, June, Bridger, C.J., Booth, R.K. “The Effects of Biotelemetry Transmitter Presence and Attachment Procedures on Fish Physiology and Behavior.” Reviews in Fisheries Science 11 (1) (2003): “Fish Tagging and Marking Techniques” Arizona Game and Fish Department June, Gibbons, J. Whitfield, Andrews, Kimberly M. “PIT Tagging: Simple Technology at Its Best.” BioScience 54, (2004): “Making Waves in Acoustic Telemetry” VEMCO June, Thorsteinsson, V. “Tagging Methods for Stock Assessment and Research in Fisheries.” Report of Concerted Action FAIR – Marine Research Institute Technical Report (79). 2002: