Evaluation of 'Half-Length' Binary Coded Wire Tag Application in Juvenile Chum Salmon

摘要

Two consecutive brood years of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) were tagged with 0.5 mm long binary coded wire tags (half-tags) and visually marked by removing the adipose fin on fish which were at a size of 0.8 g/fish. Tagging fish at this size required twice the time normally needed to tag fish larger than 1.8 g/fish (a size restriction inherent with use of the original - 1.0 mm long - binary coded wire tag). Tag loss 21 days after tagging was 34% in the 1977 brood and 1% in the 1978 brood. Tag-associated mortality was negligible in both broods.