Abstract
Background
Recently, telemetry applied to the aquatic organisms had a great development. Progressively, physiological sensors were used, as tools for fish welfare monitoring. However, it is important that tagging procedure does not disrupt fish physiology, behavior and performances to be used as a reliable non-invasive welfare indicator. In this communication, we share our mid-term data about stress physiological profile and growth performances following tag implantation in two important marine fish species of the European aquaculture, sea bream (Sparus aurata) and European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax).
Results
Mid-term blood samples post-tag implantation (46 days for sea bream and 95 days for sea bass) revealed no difference between tagged and untagged fish in the cortisol, glucose and lactate levels, suggesting that the tag implantation does not induce prolonged stress in these species. Moreover, the specific growth rate was similar for tagged and untagged fish in both species.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, the tag implantation does not induce mid-term consequences on the stress physiology and the growth performances of these two marine fish species under controlled environment. These observations first support accelerometer tags as useful tools for welfare monitoring in aquaculture condition because they do not affect the welfare and health of implanted fish. Secondly, this study shown that tagged fish can be sampled during experiments and be considered as a representative portion of the population, displaying similar growth and physiological parameters compared to untagged fish.