TITLE:
Sutureless Implantation of Acoustic Transmitters in Rainbow Trout Exceeding 2% Tag-to-Body Ratio
AUTHORS:
Ashley Kelican, Nathan Huysman, Jill M. Voorhees, Michael E. Barnes
KEYWORDS:
Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Surgery, Acoustic Transmitter
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.13 No.6,
June
20,
2022
ABSTRACT: A novel sutureless surgical technique has been
successfully used to implant acoustic transmitters in relatively large rainbow
trout Oncorhynchus mykiss with a tag-to-body-ratio of 0.88%. This study
examined the same technique in smaller rainbow trout in two, 12-week trials
comparing both sutured and sutureless surgical techniques. In the first trial
using a tag-to-body-ratio of 1.9% ± 0.04%, tag retention was only 16.6% in fish
without sutures, which was significantly lower than the 83.3% retention with
sutured incisions. Similarly, in the second trial with a tag-to-body-ratio of
3.2% ± 0.03%, tag retention was 55.5% without sutures, which was significantly
lower than the 90.0% retention using sutures. Mortality was not significantly
different between treatments in either trial. The results of this study
indicate that sutures must be used during surgeries to implant acoustic
transmitters in relatively smaller fish with tag-to-body-ratios at or above
1.9%.