Tagging investigations with small estuarine-associated fish: tag evaluation, capture methodologies and assessment of capture stress and survival in yellow-eyed mullet Aldrichetta forsteri
Denham G. Cook A C , Peter Jaksons B and Alistair R. Jerrett A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Seafood Production Group, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, 293–297 Akersten Street, Port Nelson, New Zealand.
B Production Footprints and Biometrics, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Lincoln Research Centre, PO Box 84, Lincoln, New Zealand.
C Corresponding author. Email: denham.cook@plantandfood.co.nz
Marine and Freshwater Research 69(10) 1595-1603 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF17175
Submitted: 09 June 2017 Accepted: 01 April 2018 Published: 10 July 2018
Abstract
Estuarine ecosystems present a dynamic and often biologically challenging marine environment. Resident and migratory fish occupying these environments must cope with a multitude of variations associated with physiochemical characteristics, interspecies interactions, environmental degradation and variable feed availability. Using the yellow-eyed mullet Aldrichetta forsteri as an exemplar of many other small-bodied, estuarine-inhabiting fish, we sought to assess the suitability of an array of different tag types in tank-based experiments. The survival consequences of wild capture, handling and tagging procedures were then investigated using condition and reflex impairment criteria and simulated release. It was determined that T-bar and passive integrated transponder tags were suitable tag types, but that tagging fish smaller than 50 g (~170 mm) was detrimental to survival. Using a ‘low-impact’ trap design improved post-capture tagging and survival compared with an alternative capture method. In combination, the possibility of using small-bodied fish for tag–recapture studies is demonstrated and the utilisation of comparable fish for investigations into estuarine population dynamics and ecosystem interactions is advocated.
Additional keywords: estuary, mark, mortality, recapture, reflex impairment, trap.
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