🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi,

    As I promised, if there was a great outpouring of answers related to my
marking fish question, I'd post a summary of the responses.  Well...what a
response!  Thank you all.  One update on the question has to do with an
omission on my part.  My colleague has very little money or manpower to do
this. That little piece of missing information would have helped shaped some
answers, I'm sure.  Finally, several people referred to Northwest Marine
Technology, Inc., Seattle. The company, of its own volition, shipped to me 2
videos and some pamphlets describing their materials. That was a nice
gesture on their part and I thank them very much for their generosity.

Here's the original question.

        "A colleague of mine is trying to find some way of quickly (and
inexpensively) marking thousands of young steelhead so that she can identify
which can from a stocking program and which came from natural recruitment.
Is there some dye (for example) which lodges in the adipose fin and which
can be picked up by UV light?  In other words, she needs a quick way to
detect as well.  The  marker has to last for much more than a few weeks or
months. So, is she asking for the impossible?  You can reply to me
(cac13@psu.edu).  If there's an outpouring of support (which would be
great), I'll post a summary.  Thanks in advance for your thoughts."

Here's the replies.

Andy Cole


============================
Andrew,

The quickest method is to clip the adipose fin.  There is usually no
regeneration of the adipose finonce it is clipped.  This technique is
performed in many hatcheries to identify hatchery released fish from those
that are wild.  In your colleague's situation, you may want to have her
check state operations to see if hatchery fish are being released in her
research area before she begins clipping. If marked hatchery fish are
present, a secondary method may be to use freeze branding.  This process
involves using liquid nitrogen to "label" each fish.  Letters, numbers and
combinations thereof can be used to create enough permutations to mark many
groups differently.  This process will require a recovery period if used.
If you need more information, let me know.

Sincerely,

W. Bruce Campbell
Dept. of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho,  83844-2339  USA
email: camp3972@novell.uidaho.edu
phone: (208) 885-6274
fax: (208) 885-7760

=====================================
Clipping off the adapose fin is the simplest way, but requires handling and
isn't a positive identification.  Much less expensive at the marking end is
to put the fish in a tetracycline solution when small, causing them to lay
down a flourescing layer on their otoliths (in the inner ear).  This,
however, is very expensive to read requiring dissection and sectioning of
the otolith. Injecting coded wire tags into the nasal cartilage is better
and can be detected automatically, but more expensive.  Injecting passive
integrated transponder tags will mark individual fish for life but is more
expensive and labor intensive still.  For short-term work the fish can be
sprayed with fluorescent paint, but that is unlikely to last for months.
--
J. Emil Morhardt, Roberts Professor of Biology
Director, Roberts Environmental Center
http://research.mckenna.edu/roberts/
W. M. Keck Science Center, Claremont McKenna College
925 North Mills Avenue, Claremont CA 91711-5916
(909) 621-8190; (909) 621-8298

========================================

From: RonJ@fishgame.state.ak.us (Josephson, Ron)
Subject: RE: fish marking

Dr Cole,

I would suggest you contact Northwest Marine Technologies.  They have a
visual implant tag that generally goes in near the eye that can be read
externally (alpha-numeric codes). They also have an elastomer tag that has a
color code.  In addition to these products they have an excellent staff that
can provide you with tagging assistance for your particular needs. You can
reach them at biology@nmt-inc.com

=============================
In a recent  minnow population study we used a fluorescent elastomer dye
obtained from NW Marine Tech.  We injected into the caudal peduncle
region.The tag did last in at least a few of our specimens for 8 weeks (we
recaptured after 8 weeks), but is sold as being a permanent mark.  Its
injected as liquid using an insulin syringe and needle (28 gauge in this
case).  The liquid than solidifies into an elastic solid. We were working
with small fish (14 mm and less).  The marking kit is fairly inexpensive,
but the tagging procedure in the field was time consuming.

Hope this helps,

Susanne Hickey
Eco~Centrics
Omaha, Nebraska
=======================================
From: Jason Grear <jgrear@erols.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998 21:53:47 -0500

A friend of mine injected a tiny bit of latex paint into the fin of
mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus), but I'm not sure I'd call it cheap and
fast.  It probably took nearly a minute per fish.  ID was pretty quick.  If
you're interested in more detail, write back and I'll give you his address.

=======================================
From: Guillermo Giannico <giannico@zoology.ubc.ca>

Dear Andrew:

I am currently using a fluorescent fluid to mark juvenile coho salmon. The
fluid is a suspension of microscopic coloured spheres. This dye is injected
at high pressure in the fins of the fish (preferably dorsal,  anal or
caudal, although I imagine that it would work on the adipose fin as well)
using a modified massive innoculation gun. The gun is powered with
compressed CO2. If enough dye is properly injected the marks are still
visible (in my experience) 18 months later (especially using UV light) and
(in theory) one should be able to see them many years down the road. If this
sounds like what you or/and your friend are looking for feel free to contact
me at:

giannico@zoology.ubc.ca

===========================================
How about coded wire tags as used in salmon hatchery programs?  You could
contact our Tag Lab at (907) 465-2765 for information.
_________________________________
Roger Post
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
rpost@fishgame.state.ak.us
===============================================
Why not just clip the adiipose fin?  Magnus

Magnus L. Johnson, Department of Biology, University of Leicester,
Leicester, LE1 7RH,  U.K.
see : 'http://www.le.ac.uk/biology/research/blpgs.html#magnus'
and : 'http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/5577/'

email : mlj2@le.ac.UK
Tel   : 0116 252 3353/2
===========================================
From: "Henry Mushinsky (BIO)" <mushinsk@chuma.cas.usf.edu>

I have been investigating tagging systems, and have found the type of tag
you need to be available from Northwest Marine Technology, Inc. Look them up
at www.NWT-INC.com. or call 360-468-3375 They have a binary coded wire
microtag designed to fill your needs.

Cheers,
Henry
============================================
 Andy:

     There are several solutions, all have been well vetted too.

     They include:

     visual implant tags
     elasmeric dyes
     microwires

     Check out:

     Northwest Marine Technologies, Inc.
     360 468 3844

     They have a web site too, do a search for the URL.

     sam

Sam Droege  FROG@USGS.GOV
w 301-497-5840 h 410-798-6759 fax 301-497-5784
PWRC, 12100 Beech Forest Dr., Laurel, Md 20708-4038
Http://www.mp1-pwrc.usgs.gov
==============================================
Dear Andy,

    Biologists in the Pacific northwest have used coded wire tags on salmonids
for years. The tag is a fine wire about 5-10mm in length. It is inserted
near the fish's nostrils and can be easily detected with a wand of some
sort. The process has been automated so that tagging thousands is no big
deal. If you want to remove the tags (which i believe requires sacrificing
the fish) you can identify the fish to batch (for example if you had more
than one stocking). Another method would be to clip (i.e, remove) the
adipose fin. There are other methods I'm sure, but both of these are fairly
quick and inexpensive. Good luck to your colleague.

Sincerely,

Mark S. Bevelhimer, Ph.D.                 phone: 423-576-0266
 Environmental Sciences Division          email: mb2@ornl.gov
 Oak Ridge National Laboratory            homepage:
 P.O. Box 2008, Bldg 1505                    http://www.esd.ornl.gov/~mb2
 Oak Ridge, TN  37831-6036
=============================================
I'm sure you thought of just cutting off the adipose fin.

Michael Harvey
ui983@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
============================================
Andrew-

Several folks forwarded your query re: fish marking. I suggest you have your
colleague contact the people at Northwest Marine Technologies in WA.  tel.=
360.468.3375  fax= 360.468.3844
NMT is the largest vendor for visible implant tags.

Paul Siri
Associate Director
Bodega Marine Laboratory             tel: 707-875-2211
2099 Westside Road
Bodega Bay,  CA  94923               fax: 707-875-2009

URL: http://www-bml.ucdavis.edu

===========================================
Andrew:

Have your friend call Newwest Technologies, in Santa Rosa, Ca
(707-578-2345). They have a marking system which embeds a fluorescent
compound in fish for subsequent identification using a uv light.  You might
also consult with the local fish and game agency.  The procedures for
spraying a fluorescent grit onto mass samples of fish using a paint sprayer
setup has been general practice among hatchery guys for a long time. They
should be able to give some advice.
gv.


 |
 |   Gary Vinyard
 |   Department of Biology /314
 |   University of Nevada
 |   Reno, Nevada  89557-0015
 |
 |   gvinyard@med.unr.edu
 |   http://brrc.unr.edu
 |____________________________________________________|


====================================================
Andrew,

A colleague of mine forwarded your message to me.  I work in our stock
identification unit with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.  I
can think of two proven methods to mark steelhead smolts depending on their
size at marking.  The first is with elastomer in the adipose eyelid.
Juveniles must be no less than 80 mm total length.  his is a medical grade
elastomer with fluorescent pigment mixed in.  The material is a thick liquid
when injected and becomes cohesive after ~24 h depending upon the water
temperture.  It is injected with a handheld hypodermic syringe.  Retention
should be near 100% and the marks are very visible.  For short term you
probably wouldn't need UV light for recognition.  The mark lasts the life of
the fish.  Depending upon the numbers of fish to be marked you could use a
handheld syringe or an air driven syringe.  It comes in several fluorescent
colors.  We mark approximately 3 million fish per year with this method for
brood stock identification.

The second technique is the VI Jet tag.  This is a fluorescent liquid that
is injected into the fin rays using a jet injector.  This technique works on
smaller fish 60 mm and above and remains visible for approximately 1 year.
It also comes in several colors.  We have marked several hundred thousand
with this technique.

Both techniques are manufactured by Northwest Marine Technology at (360)
468-3375.

If you have any other questions you can contact me via email or by phone at
(360) 902-2793.

Dan Thompson
Research Biologist
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
thompdat@dfw.wa.gov

===========================================
From: Susan Monteleone <susan@ecomod.geog.unt.edu>

Contact Dr. Jim Winter at Texas Tech Range and Wildlife Management,
Lubbock, TX. He works with telemetry and is also knowledgable about mark and
recapture...

Good luck.
==============================================
 Andy,

     Salmonid marking from hatcheries is often done with coded wire tags
inserted into the fishs' heads.  These could be picked up with a simple
metal detecting device (it's how the tag readers make sure there is a tag
present before engaging in the long process of dissecting salmon heads
returned to the lab to recover tags for code reading).  Without the need for
more specific, hatchery-of-origin information, the presence/absence of a
plain wire may be sufficient. Typically, these tags are _tiny_ and well
tolerated by small fish.

     Dyes have been used for fish tagging--usually subcutaneous latex-- but
I'm not sure how well this would remain detectable over the course of a year
or more.  Nor have I heard of using this for salmonids--it's usually been in
the context of short-term experiments on reef fish.

     If there is concern about fishing mortality effects on wild v hatchery
production, an external tag and tag return program may be better. There are
a lot of experts on salmon tagging (I'm not one of them 8^), so I've
forwarded your message on to some colleagues here at NMFS who may be able to
give you more information.
     Cheers,
     Eric

     **********************************************************************
     Eric P. Bjorkstedt, Ph.D.                     Eric.Bjorkstedt@noaa.gov
     NRC Research Associate
     NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC                               Phone: 206-860-3351
     2725 Montlake Boulevard East                  FAX:   206-860-3267
Seattle, WA 98112                             Home:  206-675-8679
**********************************************************************
===========================================
From: Laurie Weitkamp <Laurie.Weitkamp@noaa.gov>

     The most common way to mark salmonids is to remove fins--either the
adipose or one of the ventral fins.  However, the absence of an adipose fin
in non-steelhead salmonids usually indicates the presence of a coded wire
tag.  There are efforts underfoot to mark (via adipose removal) but not tag
(with a CWT) all hatchery steelhead in OR and CA  (this is presently being
done in WA)--she might check with the hatchery manager to see whats being
done.  CWTs cost about $0.05 each, although you need the machine to insert
the tags.  Cutting the adipose fin is quick and usually just requires
knocking the fish out temporarily.

     Paint spraying has been used to temporarily mark salmonids.  You might
talk to Dave Schreffler (Battelle NW in Sequim, WA, 360-683-4151) who marked
fish for his thesis.

     Another externally-visible tagging system is freeze branding.  The
brand is not permanent (eventually the scales grow back), but may be visible
for several months.  Several articles have discussed this method, but I
don't have a handy reference for it.

     One additional mass-marking method is the use of otolith marks.
Batches of fish are exposed to colder or hotter water than ambient for
varying amounts of time.  This lays down unique, distinctive lines on the
otoliths that are visible when the otolith is "read".  Although  this is a
cheap technique and can be used to mark thousands of fish at once, you have
to kill the fish to remove the otolith, and "reading" the otolith is
expensive and time consuming.

=============================================
>Dr. Cole,
Your inquiry was passed to me by a colleague. We successfully marked
largemouth bass fingerlings reared by state hatcheries. F ish could be
identified upon recapture from stocked lakes over 9 mo later -12 mo possible
with larger fish. By marking lt vs rt sides, we could distinguish
Spring/Fall release. We used freeze-branding.  If interested in details,
feel free to contact me.
Regards, Claudia Bailey

Dr. Claudia F. Bailey             phone: 501-575-3251
Biological Sciences               FAX:   501-575-4010
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR  72701
==========================================

From: "John C. O'Herron, II" <joherron@voicenet.com>

Andy:
        It occurs to me that tetracycline has been used to mark scales and
otoliths in fish for growth studies and marking.  I think that it can be
detected with UV light.  I believe there is a contigent of fish people at
Penn State who may have a volume of Fisheries Techniques (something like
that, can't put my hand on it right now).  Anyhow, I recall that the young
fish can be marked by using the tetracycline in a bath or in their feed.

Regards, John.
=============================================
Dear Andy,  I received a copy of your email request for information about
fry marking systems from Kent Schreiber at our Leetown Science Center in WV.
I am developing a method with John Sternick at Mansfield University,
Mansfield,PA using tagged protein antigens processed by the fish immune
system.  We have detected (with enzyme immune assay or 'ELISA') retention of
the mark up to 14 months in Atlantic salmon after they were marked as
swim-up fry.  Our work this spring is to develop the method with a light
wand to read the mark, thus eliminating the need for a blood sample.  This
method may not yet be ready for use by your colleague, unless she is
interested in checking results with blood samples and ELISA assays. We don't
have the light wand reader method ready yet.  Also, we don't know how long
the mark is readable in the fish.  We haven't done this long enough to find
an endpoint.  The process is easy, fry can be marked in incubation trays (~
10,000 fish per tray) using bath treatments for 10 minutes, or a series of 2
baths with a 3-5 minute rinse in between.    Please let me know if you have
further interest.

William (Bill) Krise

717-724-3322  ext. 231
717-724-2525 (FAX)
=========================================
Andrew,

I've done some work with the Nevada Department of Wildlife marking Woundfin
minnows in the Colorado River with coded wire tags from Northwest Marine
Technologies (360-468-3375).  To tag the fish, one injects a microwire
(about 1 mm long and .25 mm dia.) into the fish with a hand-held injector
gun.  One then can detect tagged fish using a hand-held wand similar but
more sensitive than the hand-held metal detectors used in airports.  It is
difficult to differentially tag fish with this technique, unless the fish is
big enough you can tag some in the snout and some in the tail, or you can
tag on one side or the other.  However, it sounds like you just need to know
presence or absence of tags to tell if the fish is hatchery reared or not,
and this technique works well for that.  The only downside is the expense of
the equipment, which is about $10,000 for the hand-held injector and wand
detector.  You may be able to find a local agency who owns the equipment and
may be willing to let you borrow it. The consumable tags are very
inexpensive ($30 for 10,000 or so).  Good luck.

Mark Sappington

Dept. of Biology
Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas
sapping@nevada.edu

==========================================

This is a really silly question, but most hatcheries in the Pacific
Northwest clip the adipose fin of their smolts so that they can quickly be
identified as hatchery fish; if she's just interested in differentiating
between hatchery and wild fish, fin clips ought to do just fine, and they've
been applied to steelhead and, I think, demonstrated to have no adverse
affect on subsequent survival.
--

I may have been unclear: I meant MY response was a silly question, not
that your original question was silly. A thousand pardons.
--
     Josh Hayes          josh@cqs.washington.edu        PDGA #9665
            http://www.cqs.washington.edu/~josh

=========================================
From: Slinger002 <slinger002@aol.com>
Subject:      Re: fish marking

Would it take to long to just clip the adipose fin?

=========================================
From: JanetES@fishgame.state.ak.us (Schempf, Janet E)
Subject: FW: fish marking

Just clipping the fin would work only in an area with no other study that
also clips the adipose fin.  I've worked on many marking projects, and all
the projects involved adipose fin clipping.
=========================================

From: JOHNNY M SAPPINGTON <sapping@NEVADA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: fish marking

Andrew,

I've done some work with the Nevada Department of Wildlife marking Woundfin
minnows in the Colorado River with coded wire tags from Northwest Marine
Technologies (360-468-3375).  To tag the fish, one injects a microwire
(about 1 mm long and .25 mm dia.) into the fish with a hand-held injector
gun.  One then can detect tagged fish using a hand-held wand similar but
more sensitive than the hand-held metal detectors used in airports.  It is
difficult to differentially tag fish with this technique, unless the fish is
big enough you can tag some in the snout and some in the tail, or you can
tag on one side or the other.  However, it sounds like you just need to know
presence or absence of tags to tell if the fish is hatchery reared or not,
and this technique works well for that.  The only downside is the expense of
the equipment, which is about $10,000 for the hand-held injector and wand
detector.  You may be able to find a local agency who owns the equipment and
may be willing to let you borrow it. The consumable tags are very
inexpensive ($30 for 10,000 or so).  Good luck.

Mark Sappington

Dept. of Biology
Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas
sapping@nevada.edu

Charles Andrew Cole, Ph.D.
Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center
301 Forest Resources Laboratory
University Park, PA 16801
814-863-5415
814-863-7193 fax
cac13@psu.edu


"And NUH is the letter I use to spell Nutches,
 Who live in small caves, known as Niches, for hutches.
 These Nutches have troubles, the biggest of which is
 The fact there are many more Nutches than Niches.
 Each Nutch in a Nich knows that some other Nutch
 Would like to move into his Nich very much.
 So each Nutch in a Nich has to watch that small Nich
 Or Nutches who haven't got Niches will snitch."

Dr. Seuss
"On Beyond Zebra", 1955