Effects of the Floy Anchor Tag on the Growth and Survival of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Abstract

We conducted two field trials to determine the effects of the gun-injected, Floy anchor tag (FD-67) on growth and survival of 10-month-old domesticated brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in a 0.7 ha pond. Trials ran from October to the following June. In 1968 we stocked 106 tagged trout and 1005 controls, and in 1969, 300 tagged trout and 500 controls. We removed different fins from each group to determine tag loss. In both trials we sampled the trout twice through the ice and twice during open water. The tags retarded growth of the trout from October to January; differences in growth rates between tagged and controls were 18 and 28% for the 1968 and 1969 trials, respectively. After January both groups grew at similar rates. Thetags did not affect survival, and tag losses were 5.7 and 2.0% for the two trials.