Atlantic Salmon Post-Smolt Acoustic Tag Retention and Mortality Study

54.8% of post-smolt Atlantic salmon expelled surgically implanted dummy acoustic tags during a 92-day monitoring period, while post-surgical mortality was low at ≤5.1%. This dataset contains empirical results from that study and a meta-analysis of wider literature, which found an average tag retention rate of 86.7% and mortality of 12.4% across other studies. The research was conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and published in 2023.

Use Cases

• Model the relationship between tag:body mass ratio and tag retention rates using meta-analysis data.
• Analyze growth impairment and foreign body response metrics in post-smolt salmon following tag implantation.
• Compare post-surgical mortality rates between empirical study results and the broader meta-analysis findings.
• Assess the risk of misinterpreting stationary telemetry signals as mortality events versus actual tag expulsion.

Strengths

• Empirical study tracked fish over a 92-day monitoring period for longitudinal assessment.
• Meta-analysis aggregates findings on tag retention and mortality from multiple studies, providing broader context.
• Specific, quantified results are provided, including a 54.8% tag expulsion rate and ≤5.1% mortality in the primary study.

Limitations

• Sample size and specific row/column counts for the underlying data are unknown.
• The empirical study focuses on a single species (Atlantic salmon post-smolts), limiting generalizability.
• Data freshness is unclear as the underlying study is from 2023, though the record was updated in 2026.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Coastal Ecosystem Science Division.

Collection Method

Empirical assessment of tag retention and mortality in Atlantic salmon post-smolts, complemented by a meta-analysis of existing literature.

Time Range

Monitoring period of 92 days for the empirical study; publication year 2023.

Freshness

null

Geography

Study conducted in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada; meta-analysis includes wider literature.