Advances in Fish Tagging and Marking Technology

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
Release Time ◽  
Tag Identification ◽  
Penobscot River ◽  
Salmon Population ◽  
Declining Populations ◽  
Simple Change ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Made In

<i>Abstract</i>.—Atlantic salmon <i>Salmo salar </i>smolts are stocked in the Penobscot River, Maine to supplement declining populations. Since 2000, approximately 550,000 hatchery smolts are annually released into the river, of which 32% of these (175,000) were marked with visual implant elastomer (VIE) tags indicating release time and location. Our study found that tag colors of adult returns were often misread due to confusion between green and yellow marks and between red and pink marks. Using data collected on mark readings in a controlled hatchery environment, we corrected for tag identification errors made in the field, thereby allowing adjustments to be made in the marked returns to accurately assess the number of returns from multiple stocking groups. When adult returns from multiple stocking groups were compared, significant differences were detected between stocking groups, including a three-fold difference between two of the stocking groups. Hence, a simple change in smolt stocking locations and times may be of value in the recovery of the Penobscot River salmon population.

Catchment-wide survival of wild- and hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon smolts in a changing system

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 1352-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Stich ◽  
Michael M. Bailey ◽  
Christopher M. Holbrook ◽  
Michael T. Kinnison ◽  
Joseph D. Zydlewski
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
Dam Removal ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Hydropower Generation ◽  
Multistate Model ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Coastal Systems ◽  
Penobscot River

We developed a hierarchical multistate model to estimate survival of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts in the Penobscot River, USA, over a decade during which two mainstem dams were removed from the catchment. We investigated effects of (i) environmental factors, (ii) rearing history, and (iii) management actions, including dam removal, turbine shutdown, and installation of new powerhouses. Mean ± SD smolt survival per kilometre was higher through free-flowing reaches of the catchment (0.995 ± 0.004·km−1) than through reaches containing dams that remain in the system (0.970 ± 0.019·km−1). We observed maximum survival between 12 and 17 °C and at intermediate discharges (1200 m3·s−1). Smolt survival increased concurrent with dam removal and decreased following increases in hydropower generation. The greatest increase in smolt survival followed seasonal turbine shutdowns at a dam located on the largest tributary to the Penobscot River, while other shutdowns had little influence. Our model provides a useful tool for assessing changes to survival of migratory species and will be useful for informing stocking plans to maximize numbers of smolts leaving coastal systems.

Temporal Variation of Meristic Traits within an Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Stock, and Implications for Stock Identification

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1330-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Blouw ◽  
S. D. Saxon ◽  
E. M. P. Chadwick
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
River System ◽  
Stock Identification ◽  
Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar ◽  
Group Variation ◽  
Made In

The assumption is generally made in stock identification studies that variation within stocks is not confounded with variation among them. To evaluate whether this assumption is tenable we test the null hypothesis of temporal stability in five key meristic traits of a single stock of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We used smolts collected over a 10-yr period in the downstream migrations from one small river system. Individuals were tagged when captured and preserved, so we can estimate variability within, as well as among, runs. The meristic traits are remarkably homogenous within runs and cohorts. However, the null hypothesis of stability over time among runs and cohorts is strongly rejected for each trait. We conclude that temporal variation is both extensive and persistent. There is limited covariation among the traits, but they are largely independent of scores of environmental variables and of variation in the biological attributes of the stock. Because among-group variability is meaningful only in context of within-group variation, and because the within-group variation is large, our results have serious implications for sampling design in stock identification studies.

scholarly journals Interannual changes in recruitment of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population in the River Oir (Lower Normandy, France): relationships with spawners and in-stream habitat

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Luc Baglinière ◽  
Frédéric Marchand ◽  
Vincent Vauclin
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Stream Habitat ◽  
Juvenile Salmon ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar ◽  
Salmon Population ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Since 1985, the dynamics of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population in the River Oir, a spawning tributary of the River Sélune (Lower Normandy, France), have been studied from a data set of parr density and the number and the age structure of migrating fish (smolts and adults). Parr densities (1.5–17.4 per 100 m2) and smolt production (0.25–9.2 per 100 m2) varied considerably from year to year. Migrating juveniles were mainly 1 year old. Abundance of parr and smolts was strongly correlated with 0+ densities. Egg-to-smolt survival rates were highly variable year on year (0.044–1.07%). During the juvenile freshwater phase, mortality was highest between the egg and the 0+ stage (97.5–99.9%). The fluctuations in abundance of juvenile salmon appear to be linked to the number and distribution of spawners within the stream during spawning, and also to the amount of silt deposition on the spawning beds. As a result, mortality was highest during the under-gravel phase, and the mean survival rate from egg to smolt was much lower than in rivers less impacted by human activities. Therefore, during the study period, the low production of smolts during some years might lead to a low renewal rate of the salmon population.

scholarly journals Migration of Postsmolt Atlantic Salmon, Salmo salar, Off Northeastern Newfoundland, As Inferred by Tag Recoveries in a Seabird Colony

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 568-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Montevecchi ◽  
D. K. Cairns ◽  
V. L. Birt
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
New England ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Food Samples ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar ◽  
Penobscot River ◽  
Migratory Pattern

Northern gannets, Sula bassanus, and possibly other seabird species nesting on Funk Island off northeastern Newfoundland preyed on postsmolt Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Salmon comprised less than 1% of 2928 regurgitated food samples collected from gannets at the colony. Ten smolt tags were recovered in and near the gannetry during August or September in 1984 through 1986. The tags were from smolts released 3–4 mo earlier in the Penobscot River (Maine) (n = 7) and one each from the Saint John River (New Brunswick) and the Lower Clyde and LaHave rivers (Nova Scotia). These recoveries provide evidence that postsmolt Atlantic salmon from rivers in New England, the Bay of Fundy, and the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia migrate off eastern Newfoundland This migratory pattern contrasts with that of postsmolts from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which tend to move northwards along Newfoundland's west coast and through the Strait of Belle Isle.

Production of Juvenile Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in Two Acidic Rivers of Nova Scotia

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 2003-2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles L. Lacroix
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
Maximum Growth ◽  
Potential Yield ◽  
Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar ◽  
The North ◽  
Juvenile Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Salmon Population ◽  
Acidic River

Densities, growth, and production of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were estimated at sites in two acidic rivers of different pH, the Westfield and North rivers, in Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1982 to 1984. Annual production was significantly lower in the more acidic Westfield River (< 0.4 g∙m−2∙yr−1 at pH 4.7–5.4) than in the North River (1.4 g∙m−2∙yr−1 at pH 5.6–6.3). Low production rates in the more acidic river were attributable to the lower densities and poorer survival of juveniles at the lower pH levels. Low densities of parr in the more acidic river were a function of the high initial mortality of postemergent fry, and the mortality of parr during periods of pH minima such as over winter. Marking and recapture information and trapping at a weir for counting migrating fishes indicated that there was little emigration of parr other than in the spring when some movements occurred preceding and during smoltification. Average potential yield of 2-yr smolts was 0.8 smolt/100 m2 in the Westfield River and in the range of 2.7–6.6 smolts/100 m2 at higher pH levels in the North River. Growth was not limiting to production at the lower pH levels. After the first winter, 1-yr-old parr were much larger at the lower pH than they were at less acidic pH levels, the faster growth possibly resulting from the lower density of parr at the lowest pH. A temperature-related biphasic growth of 1-yr-old parr with periods of maximum growth in spring and autumn was recorded. Reduced production, a result of deleterious effects of low pH on survival and density in the Westfield River was probably sufficient to prevent the continued maintenance of a naturally produced salmon population in that river, whereas production at higher pH levels in the North River was comparable to that in near-neutral waters of other areas.

scholarly journals Antibody against infectious salmon anaemia virus among feral Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 865-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocco C. Cipriano
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
River System ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Infectious Salmon Anaemia Virus ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Connecticut River ◽  
Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar ◽  
Penobscot River ◽  
Infectious Salmon Anaemia

AbstractCipriano, R. C. 2009. Antibody against infectious salmon anaemia virus among feral Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 865–870. Archived sera from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that returned to the Penobscot River (Maine), Merrimack River (Massachusetts), and Connecticut River (in Massachusetts) from 1995 to 2002 were analysed for antibodies against infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Up to 60 samples were archived per river system per year. In a given year, the number of fish sampled by ELISA for ISAV antibodies in the Penobscot River ranged from 2.9 to 11.2%, and the range of salmon sampled in the Merrimack River and the Connecticut River was 31.3–100% and 20.0–67.5%, respectively. Archived sera were not available for the 1995 and 2002 year classes from the Connecticut River. In all, 1141 samples were processed; 14 serum samples tested positive for antibodies to ISAV. In the Penobscot River, serum from one fish tested positive in each of the 1995 and 1999 year-class returns, and sera from two fish tested positive in the 1998 returns. In the Merrimack River, sera from four fish tested positive in each of the 1996 and 1997 returns, and sera from two fish were positive in the 2002 return. None of the archived sera from Atlantic salmon that returned to the Connecticut River tested positive.

scholarly journals Genetic history of the population of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., under restoration in the Connecticut River, USA

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1286-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Ayllon ◽  
Jose L. Martinez ◽  
Francis Juanes ◽  
Stephen Gephard ◽  
Eva Garcia-Vazquez
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Connecticut River ◽  
River Population ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Penobscot River ◽  
Salmon Population ◽  
Donor Population ◽  
History Of ◽  
Locus Number

Abstract The Connecticut River lost its Atlantic salmon population as a result of human activity 200 years ago. Cultured stocks, derived mainly from the Penobscot River, were employed to restore the population, and an annual run of salmon has been successfully re-established, although the population is not yet self-sustaining. We examined variation at microsatellite loci in historical scale and modern tissue samples to evaluate the degree and direction of any genetic changes that have occurred in the introduced population. The current genetic pattern of the Connecticut River population is very similar to that of its Penobscot River donor population. We found no differences in heterozygosity, mean number of alleles per locus, number of migrants, or FST values between the two populations, suggesting that no genetic bottlenecks had occurred during the restoration programme.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document