An industry-scale mass marking technique for tracing farmed fish escapees.

ABSTRACT: Farmed fish escape and enter the environment with subsequent effects on wild populations. Reducing escapes requires the ability to trace individuals back to the point of escape, so that escape causes can be identified and technical standards improved. Here, we tested if stable isotope otolith fingerprint marks delivered during routine vaccination could be an accurate, feasible and cost effective marking method, suitable for industrial-scale application. We tested seven stable isotopes, (134)Ba, (135)Ba, (136)Ba, (137)Ba, (86)Sr, (87)Sr and (26)Mg, on farmed Atlantic salmon reared in freshwater, in experimental conditions designed to reflect commercial practice. Marking was 100% successful with individual Ba isotopes at concentrations as low as 0.001 µg. g-1 fish and for Sr isotopes at 1 µg

SUBMITTER: Warren-Myers F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4349866 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature