Stable isotope marking of otoliths during vaccination: a novel method for mass-marking fish

Warren‐Myers, Fletcher; Dempster, Tim; Fjelldal, Per Gunnar; Hansen, Tom; Jensen, Arne J.; Swearer, Stephen E.

doi:10.3354/aei00103

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Here, we advance a recently developed marking technique for identifying and tracing farmed Atlantic salmon escapees using stable isotope otolith fingerprint markers, delivered during vaccination [ 23 ], by testing multiple combinations of seven enriched isotopes over a concentration gradient, to determine if the technique can be feasibly applied at full industrial scale where up to 500 million fish require marking each year. Marking during routine vaccination could effectively and accurately mark all farmed fish in commercial facilities with no additional manual handling or labour costs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typically, Atlantic salmon are routinely vaccinated during the parr stage with multi-vaccines against a range of pathogens [ 24 ]. Otolith fingerprinting during vaccination is 100% successful using enriched stable isotopes 137 Ba and 86 Sr at high concentrations, and marginally successful (0 to 35%) with enriched 26 Mg [ 23 ]. Otolith fingerprinting via larval immersion on other species suggests that the use of additional stable isotopes of Ba, Sr and Mg could produce over 100 possible otolith fingerprint combinations via vaccination [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Industry-Scale Mass Marking Technique for Tracing Farmed Fish Escapees

et al. 2015

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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, 134Ba, 135Ba, 136Ba, 137Ba, 86Sr, 87Sr and 26Mg, 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. g-1 fish. Our results suggest that 63 unique fingerprint marks can be made at low cost using Ba (0.0002 – 0.02 $US per mark) and Sr (0.46 – 0.82 $US per mark) isotopes. Stable isotope fingerprinting during vaccination is feasible for commercial application if applied at a company level within the world’s largest salmon producing nations. Introducing a mass marking scheme would enable tracing of escapees back to point of origin, which could drive greater compliance, better farm design and improved management practices to reduce escapes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Industry-Scale Mass Marking Technique for Tracing Farmed Fish Escapees

et al. 2015

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“…; Warren‐Myers et al . , ,b,c). For the first time, this would enable tracing of recaptured fish back to the location, time and size of escape from mass escape events and enable more comprehensive analyses of recapture success depending on escape characteristics.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These gaps in knowledge could be addressed if all farmed fish are marked with tags that enable company-, farm-or even individual-level recognition (e.g. coded-wire tags: Courtney et al 2000;stable-isotope otolith fingerprint tags: de Braux et al 2014;Warren-Myers et al 2014, 2015a. For the first time, this would enable tracing of recaptured fish back to the location, time and size of escape from mass escape events and enable more comprehensive analyses of recapture success depending on escape characteristics.…”

Section: Sea Bream and Sea Bassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recapturing escaped fish from marine aquaculture is largely unsuccessful: alternatives to reduce the number of escapees in the wild

Dempster

Arechavala-López

Barrett

et al. 2016

Reviews in Aquaculture

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Farmed fish that escape and mix with wild fish populations can have significant ecological and genetic consequences. To reduce the number of escaped fish in the wild, recapture is often attempted. Here, we review the behaviours of escapees post-escape, and how recapture success varies with escaped fish size, the size of the initial escape event and recapture methods. Success rates of fishing gears varied among species, with gill-nets and coastal barrier nets most effective for recapture of salmonids. Recapture success was strongly negatively correlated with both fish size and the number of fish escaped, regardless of species. Recapture success was universally low across all studied species (8%). Numerous tracking studies of escaped fish indicate that recapture efforts should be initiated within 24 h of an escape incident for highest recapture success. However, most large escape events are due to storms, which mean recapture efforts rarely start within this timeframe. Recapture of escaped fish is broadly ineffective in marine habitats, with rare exception. High bycatch rates during ineffective recapture attempts imply that large-scale recapture efforts should be weighed against the possibility of affecting wild fish populations negatively. We suggest three alternative approaches to reduce escapee numbers in wild habitats: (i) protect populations of predatory fish around sea-cage farms from fishing, as they prey upon smaller escapees; (ii) construct impact offset programmes to target recapture in habitats where escapees can be efficiently caught; and (iii) ensure technical standards are legislated so that fish farmers invest in preventative technologies to minimize escapes.

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“…These methods involve the use of stable isotopes to code the otoliths of fish with unique isotope fingerprint marks during the hatchery stages of production (e.g. de-Braux et al 2014, Warren-Myers et al 2014, 2015a. To date, otolith marking with enriched stable isotopes of Ba and Sr has been highly successful in many species, and marks have been created using a range of delivery techniques, for example, via injection (Thorrold et al 2006, Williamson et al 2009b, Warren-Myers et al 2014, 2015a, immersion (Munro et al 2008, Woodcock et al 2011b, de Braux et al 2014, Warren-Myers et al 2015b or food supplementation (Woodcock et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass marking farmed Atlantic salmon with transgenerational isotopic fingerprints to trace farm fish escapees

Warren‐Myers

Dempster²,

Fjelldal³

et al. 2015

Aquacult. Environ. Interact.

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Farmed fish sometimes escape and enter natural environments, where they mix with wild fish populations and can have negative effects. Marking farmed fish is a prerequisite for the identification of the origin of escapees and for guiding technical investigations to determine the cause of an escape event and improve farming practices. We tested transgenerational marking with enriched stable isotopes to assess its effectiveness as an accurate, feasible and cost-effective marking method for Atlantic salmon Salmo salar grown in sea-cage aquaculture. We injected a combination of 7 stable isotopes ( Mg) at 4 different concentrations (2, 0.2, 0.02 and 0.002 µg g −1 broodfish) into the abdominal cavity of female Atlantic salmon broodstock. Marking success was assessed in the otoliths of the resulting yolk sac larvae using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Marking was 100% successful with Ba isotopes at concentrations as low as 0.002 µg and for Sr isotopes at 2 µg, when at least 3 wk had passed between the day of injection and spawning. Our results demonstrate that 63 unique fingerprint marks can be made at a low cost using enriched isotopes of Ba (US$ 0.0002−0.002 mark ). Compared to other mass marking techniques, transgenerational marking of farmed salmon is an economically feasible method for tracing escapees with similarly low costs to delivery by egg bathing or vaccines, and an order of magnitude or more lower than other conventional marking methods.

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Stable isotope marking of otoliths during vaccination: a novel method for mass-marking fish

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

An Industry-Scale Mass Marking Technique for Tracing Farmed Fish Escapees

An Industry-Scale Mass Marking Technique for Tracing Farmed Fish Escapees

Recapturing escaped fish from marine aquaculture is largely unsuccessful: alternatives to reduce the number of escapees in the wild

Mass marking farmed Atlantic salmon with transgenerational isotopic fingerprints to trace farm fish escapees

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