Biosensors for monitoring of fish behaviour and respiration

In this experiment we aim to test the newly developed biosensor AE-FishBit that will be attached to the operculum of Atlantic salmon post-smolt and will measure acceleration (swimming activity) and respiratory activity. This tag can be a good candidate for gaining more knowledge on Atlantic salmon biology and potentially in commercial circumstances for monitoring of fish welfare. However, a number of aspects have to be validated such as optimal method for tagging, retention rate of sensor and its functionality in commercial circumstances. For that purpose we aim to test two different tagging methods that have been previously tested for seabream and rainbow trout with dummy tags to begin with. In total 210 individual Atlantic salmon post-smolts with starting weight ~200-300g will be used in this experiment. In phase 1 of the experiment, a total of 40 fish (out of the 210) will be tagged using each of two different tagging methods. The fish will be followed for maximum of 4 weeks in a rearing tank with seawater to determine the effect of the tagging on fish behavior and the retention rate of the tag during that time. In phase 2, the most optimal tagging method identified in phase 1 will be used to tag additional 48 fish (out of the 210) with functional tags. In this phase, the 210 fish will be split between evenly (untagged, dummy-tagged, and fish with functional tags) between 3 rearing tanks (3,3 m3) with different lighting conditions: full spectra LED light of high intensity, full spectra LED light of low intensity and fluorescert light (control). Functional validation of AE-FishBit will be evaluated during a one week experimental period (Phase 2).