Assessment of PIT tag retention, growth and post-tagging survival in juvenile lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus

Abstract

Abstract Background Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags are used to study the movement and behaviour in populations of a wide variety of fish species and for a number of different applications from fisheries to aquaculture. Before embarking on long-term studies, it is important to collect information on both short- and medium-term survival and tag retention for the species in question. In this study, 90 juvenile lumpfish (10–20 g, 30 fish per replicate tank) were implanted with 12.5-mm FDX PIT tags. Results Tag retention, growth rates and survival were compared to those of fish subjected to handling only (90 fish, 30 per replicate tank). Overall survival was 100% during the 28-day monitoring period, and tag retention was 99%. Conclusions Results indicate that retention rates of 12.5-mm PIT tags in juvenile lumpfish are high, and there is no significant effect on growth rates or survival in a hatchery environment.