Effects of implanted dummy transmitters on mortality, growth and tissue reaction in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson

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Abstract
For the first time, workers in the U.K. with a Home Office licence may surgically implant transmitters into wild fish in order to track them. A laboratory study was designed to investigate the effects of intraperitoneally implanted transmitters on rainbow trout. No significant difference in mortality or growth occurred between control, sham‐implanted and implanted groups of fish over a 7‐month period. Transmitters became encapsulated by connective tissue, the composition of which is described. Three fish expelled transmitters via the body wall without subsequent mortality or morbidity. Histological evidence suggests pressure necrosis of the body wall adjacent to the tag to be the mechanism of expulsion. With good surgical procedure, intraperitoneal implantation appears to provide a suitable technique for attaching transmitters to fish, and may be preferable to existing methods for many fish.

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