GLOBAL JOURNAL OF FISHERIES SCIENCE
Integrity Research Journals
ISSN: 2782-750X
Model: Open Access/Peer Reviewed
DOI: 10.31248/GJFS
Start Year: 2018
Email: gjfs@integrityresjournals.org
Jaw tags do not impact adult rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) growth or physiology
https://doi.org/10.31248/GJFS2025.096 | Article Number: 6D49E7AD2 | Vol.7 (5) - December 2025
Received Date: 05 November 2025 | Accepted Date: 03 December 2025 | Published Date: 30 December 2025
Authors: Jackson Tyndall , Nathan Huysman and Michael E. Barnes*
Keywords: growth, physiology, jaw tags, Oncorhynchus mykiss, rainbow trout.
Metal tags secured to the jaw of fish have long been used in fisheries management to collect data on fish behavior and growth. This study was undertaken to evaluate the possible effects of these jaw tags on relatively large rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss growth and physiology. A total of 160 rainbow trout, initial weight 1134 ± 19 g (mean ± SE) and total length 444 ± 2 mm, were used in this study. Half of the fish (n = 80) were tagged, with 20 tagged and 20 untagged fish subsequently co-reared in four compartments for 42 days post-tagging. Length, weight, condition factor, hematocrit, hepatosomatic index (HSI), viscerosomatic index (VSI), and splenosomatic index (SSI) were recorded every seven days. Survival rate was the same in both treatments at 96.3%. Tag retention was 98.8%, with one jaw tag lost in the fourth week during weekly sampling. There were no significant differences in length, weight, hematocrit, HSI, VSI, and SSI between the tagged and untagged groups. Condition factor was significantly different between the groups at the one- and four-week sampling periods. Overall, these results indicate that the effects of jaw tags on adult rainbow trout are relatively benign, at least for the variables measured in this study.
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