8171

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8171
• Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Title: A Study to Determine the Biological Feasibility of Pit Tags for Endangered Fishes in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1990.
• USFW - Doc Type: Grand Junction, Colorado.
• Copyright Material: NO

1
t
1
1
1
1

1
1

1
I
I
1
1

other workers experience in implantation procedures, and 2) provide a serial
numbering system to track individual brood fish and their offspring for
genetics management in a propagation program.
6. Abandon PIT-tag studies with circular tanks at the Grand Junction field
station complex. Although, maintaining a facility here may be more cost
effective and would allow routine monitoring and observation of test fish,
obtaining large quantities of meaningful data is probably unachievable in the
area of culture-related studies because of the constraints of professional
knowledge and facilities available to us.
7. Results of the PIT-tag field study being conducted for wild humpback chub in
the lower Colorado River basin should be incorporated into future
recommendations for use of this tag.
8. We recommend that the manufacturer make the following modifications to the
scanner/decoder model that we evaluated 1) a longer coiled power cord be
made optional, 2) replacing the present male electrical connector on the
power cord with a more durable metal male connector, and 3) designing a
smaller and more compact hand-held scanner.
9. PIT tags and the related equipment required to detect and read the tags are
expensive. PIT tags range from $3.75 to $6.00 per tag depending on the
quantity of tags ordered per lot. The cost for the field scanner and detector
unit is about $1,750. The use of this tagging system may not be suitable for
projects with limited or restricted budgets. Because of the costs related to this
27