Retention of PIT and T‐Bar Anchor Tags in Blue Catfish

Abstract

AbstractWe quantified retention of PIT and T‐bar anchor tags in Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus. Eighty‐one fish (364–1,005 mm TL) were injected with a PIT tag in the dorsal musculature immediately posterior to the dorsal fin and a T‐bar anchor tag below the dorsal fin between the pterygiophores. Fish were held in a 0.24‐ha earthen pond and retention was evaluated at 2, 4, and 6 months. Retention of PIT tags was 100% over the duration of the study. T‐bar anchor tag retention was about 94% at 2 months and 76% at 6 months and was linearly related to time. We estimated that by 25 months, all T‐bar tags would be lost. Our results suggest PIT tags can effectively be used in long‐term studies (>6 months), whereas T‐bar anchor tags are suited for short‐term experiments.Received July 29, 2013; accepted October 15, 2013Published online January 24, 2014